Safe Haven
by mysticfalls-originals
Summary: NIGHTMARES PART 2! "How season 6 should have been" through bonkai's eyes. this is a separate story from Nightmares that you can read as a standalone - only thing you need to know is they had more time alone in 1994 to fall for each other.
1. Chapter 1

Bonnie could hear the sound of the wind roaring nearby and felt an icy chill blanket her skin. She fought internally to lift her limbs or open her eyes – make some type of movement but it felt like she was trapped underwater; each part of her body cemented into the ground that had to be physically forced up. Focusing on one body part at a time she felt herself slowly coming back to life, opening her eyes to light shining through overhead. Squinting and lifting her arm to cover her face, she tried to piece together where she was and how she ended up there.

Bonnie's most recent course of action started playing out in flashes before her eyes; walking to the cave with Kai, doing the protection and resurrection spells on him and proceeding with the chant to leave the prison world – the brightness illuminating the room being the last thing she saw. She shot straight up as fast as her achy limbs could manage and looked to her right at Kai's sleeping silhouette.

"Kai!" she croaked; her voice sounding as beat up as her body felt, "wake up!"

Not sure if they had passed out during their attempt and failed to get home or if they did in fact succeed, she leaned over and shook him with a blend of fear and excitement. His face didn't change under the momentum and she moved her hands around his neck, lifting his head closer.

"Come on, I'm not waiting all day again for you to finally get up – _focus on my voice. Wake up Kai._ "

She said the words sternly and was close enough to his face that he would have either broken character and started laughing, or – shaking her head she placed his back on the ground and leaned her ear against his chest. Her eyebrows drew in concern hearing his slow heartbeat; similar to what she felt when she was chanting but somehow right in the middle of how it should be – both strong and steady or nothing at all.

There were two possible outcomes Kai could fall into in their attempt to return to present day; his father succeeds in stopping his heart like before and either spells kick in to bring him back to life, or his father isn't able to break through the spell's barrier and Kai comes back healthy. What she wasn't prepared for was the inevitable Russian roulette of option three – his father still having a hold on him from unsuccessfully killing him during their escape. Now he was stuck in the center of both power sources wrestling against one another struggling to break free.

Bonnie lifted her head off his chest and flexed her fingers, placing her palms where her cheek was resting and muttering the chant to fill his lungs with air. She felt his chest expand as he breathed deeply on the next inhale and his heartbeat was starting to become more frequent. Looking over his face and not seeing any change she rubbed the side of her head in frustration, scooping his hand off the ground and intertwining their fingers.

" _Concentrate_ …" she muttered, closing her eyes and focusing on the hand in hers.

Bonnie tried to imagine magic flowing out of her hand into his and rejuvenating his entire system; much like the moments Kai has done it willingly to her. She squeezed his hand so tight she could feel her ring digging into her skin and yelled out in frustration when no jolt of magic charged out of her. She wondered how many times Kai had come up against scenarios of needing magic in the moment and the anger and disappointment he must have felt after each and every defeat. Witnessing with her own eyes and hearing a handful of terrible memories he's had to endure, she couldn't imagine the rage and inadequacy that must have overcome him during his darkest times.

Looking over his profile she had the urge to do two distinct and opposing acts; slap him, or kiss him. Both would hopefully get a reaction and stir him from his slumber but was split equally on which road she'd prefer to take. Slapping him would be more effective, quick and easy and almost certain to wake him but her mind hovered over the opposite end of the spectrum. Bonnie promised herself and vocally announced that there would be no more flirting or intimate gestures between the two of them and had every intention in sticking by it. She did not want anyone to know of the secret rendezvous her and Kai had gotten into over the months and was especially not eager to hear their opinions on the matter.

Shrugging she brought her palm up and gave him gentle but firm taps on both cheeks, gripping his chin and nudging it slightly to see if the motion would shake him.

"This is ridiculous," she huffed to herself, looking behind her at the cave's opening and having the urge to run the half mile through the woods and see if she stumbles upon another person.

Drumming her fingers against his chest she leaned over his shoulder and face, looking at his calm and boyish features and still had trouble wrapping her head around how an innocent face could enact such truly terrible deeds. Shaking her head at her last ditch effort she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against his; soft but secure as she snaked her hand up to rest on the side of his neck.

Bonnie left small pecks against his, attempting to coax him out of his subconscious and felt her dexterities tingling at the contact. Her fingers ghosted across his neck leaving a charge in its path causing Kai to hum in the back of his throat. The noise enticed something within her and the tinging heightened her senses; her lips just barely vibrating against his.

Kai let out a sound between blowing out a gust of air and a groan, cupping the back of her neck to pull her closer. Bonnie breathed out a sigh and internally smacked herself for letting this happen – already – but wanting to hold onto the feeling that comes with it. Before letting herself fall into the moment she turned her head away from his, resting her temper on his forehead to catch her breath before lifting her head to stare into his sapphire eyes.

"Well that was a nice way to wake up," he rasped through an equally battered voice.

"That was the _only way_ to wake you up," she corrected "shaking, slapping, and chanting were all failed attempts; I was running out of options."

"So you saved the best for last," he nodded "smart."

"I'm a real genius," she said sarcastically, her mind thinking back to all the situations she's gotten into while being in the prison world "can you get up?"

Kai scoffed at her question and tried to lift up with ease, making it halfway before he hissed out a painful breath.

"What is it?"

"My chest," he murmured rubbing over his heart, shaking his head and looked back at her with a vibrant smile "you didn't kill me."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, reaching for his arm to help him stand as his legs almost gave out from under him.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she huffed as she tried to hold his bodyweight.

"I'm still standing," he boasted proudly.

" _Barely_ ," she stressed, reaching for his stomach to keep him steady driving her point home "what's going on; why are you not healing? Or doing your usual dying and coming back to life trick?"

"Maybe my mojo's running low," he suggested flexing his hand by his side "or maybe it's a natural reaction to arriving in present day – the nausea of reality and all that."

"That would be preferable; then I can push you off on the closest doctor I can find," she taunted.

"And miss out on my own personal nurse taking care of me? That would have to be one hell of a doctor."

"Well if we just so happen to bump into another living person that will be our first stop. Think you can make it back to the house without passing out?"

"I'll manage," he said sardonically as he pulled her in around the shoulder and she secured her arm around his back before they walked out of the caves entrance.

The walk back took longer than she anticipated; both with carrying half of his weight and needing to stop to catch her breath – by the time she reached the front door she was feeling as winded and lightheaded as Kai's pale features. Squeezing her eyes tight with a quick prayer of finding somebody in this God forsaken house she turned the handle and slowly entered the premise. She glanced down both hallways and took the few extra steps to the living room – movement catching her peripheral off to the left.

Bonnie's eyes widened to the scene playing out in front of her; a guy's naked back facing her as he peeled a skimpy shirt off of the girl underneath him and leaned back into her. Her eyes took in all of the little details and felt her heartrate rising at the instant recognition.

"Huh," she laughed in disbelief, their lips separating as he turned and locked eyes with hers.

"Bonnie?"

She felt Kai looking back and forth between them, trying to place who he was before his smirk spread like the Grinch.

"Oh _please_ tell me that's who I think it is."

"Jeremy," she responded to his pleading eyes as he jumped off the couch towards them almost knocking her and Kai over.

"Are you really here? How did you make it back? _Are you okay?_ "

Jeremy held onto her shoulders as he asked questions at a rapid pace, glancing over at Kai on her right and back to her.

"Why is he here, did he hurt you?"

"What no, he – listen it's a long story. I just got back this is the first place I could get to, I expected to find Damon or Stefan, maybe Elena – but this is definitely a surprise."

She looked around his arm and he followed her gaze to the half-naked girl on the couch staring back at them; Bonnie's raised eyebrows a clear indication saying _put your clothes on_ that she picked up on quickly.

Jeremy looked back at Bonnie and crushed his chest against hers; his frame bulkier than Kai's throwing her off balance as she stumbled back a few steps.

"I can't believe you're really here," he murmured against her head and her heart warmed at the statement; wrapping her arms around his back and savoring the moment of feeling missed.

"This is sweet," she heard Kai say beside her "a reunion between the Mr. and Mrs.; truly heartwarming. Perhaps we should ask the mistress if she'd also like to be involved."

The girl took that as her cue and got off the couch quickly; zooming past them to the front door as Jeremy went to step towards Kai. Bonnie stopped his movements and looked into his eyes, tilting her head in confusion.

"Have you been drinking?"

Jeremy's glazed eyes stared back down at her without speaking and she looked around him again landing on the half bottle of bourbon on the side table.

"Starting off a little early today, are we?" Kai hummed "you know happy hour isn't for at least another four hours."

Bonnie shook her head at Kai's harmless banter but Jeremy was once again storming towards him, forcing Bonnie to stand in between.

"Judgement coming from the one who murdered his own family – that's funny."

"Okay – relax. The drinking we will talk about later, and you-"she turned and stared Kai down "cut it out."

Kai raised his hands up in mock-innocence.

"I'm harmless."

"Far from it," Jeremy snapped.

"Bon has nothing to worry about," he said casually and she could see the gleam hinting behind his eyes.

"I doubt that; I've heard enough about you by now to know _everyone_ has something to worry about when you are around."

"Always nice to meet the fans," he said with smile and Bonnie closed her eyes briefly at the realization that this is just the first of many grand introductions Kai was going to be making.

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"Not usually-"

"Never-"Kai and Bonnie said at the same time, her sigh triggering a chuckle out of him "just tune him out, you'll get used to it. Where is everybody?"

"They-" he hesitated with scrunched eyebrows "they haven't been able to get back into Mystic Falls since the night you told me that you never had any intention of coming back."

"Jer," she sighed.

"When you were too busy saving everyone else – leaving me here."

Bonnie felt her expression shift and searched his eyes; reading the pain and anger – maybe even heartbreak – behind his glossy complexion and felt her heart pang with guilt. It had been so long since she was first sent to that prison world that the memories leading up to it ended up getting blocked out to keep her sanity in check. Bonnie was already on the Otherside, battling her way to get back when it started collapsing with her and her friends trapped in its hold. She had managed to pull a handful of her friends back through to the living including Elena, Stefan, and Alaric but her attempt to save Damon was executed too late and they were left behind.

"You told me I had lost you before you were even gone, how did you expect me to move on from that?"

Bonnie fought the urge to arch her eyebrow; the irony of the scene she walked in on playing in her mind.

"With time," she said calmly, trying to relax her expression in hopes it would cause him to do the same. "I'm sorry Jeremy, I tried everything I could to come back but… there was never a way to save me. I had accepted my fate I just couldn't bring myself to tell you or anyone else-"

"We could have helped!" he intervened.

"No," she smiled sadly "If you could I would have told you – but what would that have done? Given us a deadline on what I already knew was coming and ruined the rest of our time together. I did what I had to do."

"It's all my fault," he let out in a rush, pulling her into his tight embrace "I'm the reason you were on the Otherside in the first place and ended up locked away with some deranged child murderer-"

"Nice," Kai cooed.

"He could have hurt you, _or worse_."

Bonnie could hear Kai's snickering behind her and clenched down so hard her teeth were grinding. She hugged Jeremy closer resting her head on his shoulder and felt his self-loathing radiating off of him, wanting to appease it in some way.

"I don't blame you," she confessed in a small voice and fought the urge to let her eyes water knowing she would quickly unravel.

"I do," he said in a sad tone that had her subconscious playing out the last few memories she had with him and his unsuspecting look of torment when she broke the news to him.

Bonnie opened her mouth to object when he turned and pressed his lips to hers, letting out a small gasp of shock before her mind could process what was happening. Once she was up to speed she tried leaning back but his hand on the back of her head held her in place, putting her hand on his chest to push him back before he let out an agonized noise.

Jeremy broke the kiss and hunched forward holding his temple groaning, her eyes shooting back to Kai's angry expression as he looked down at Jeremy. He glanced up at Bonnie and his features smoothed into a smile, Jeremy's pained noises easing as she helped him back up.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah," he shook his head slowly "It felt like my head was exploding, like-"

"A migraine from Hell?" Kai offered "drinking can really damage the mind."

Jeremy looked over, a realization flashing that Kai was still there and Bonnie gripped his shirt to halt any sudden movements.

" _You?"_ he asked incredulously "You're back five minutes and already hurting someone? She should have left you to rot."

"Well I can't _rot_ , technically – I mean look at this young face – but I understand the reference."

"You look pretty rotten to me," Jeremy argued and Kai laughed into a cough, shrugging in agreement looking himself over.

"Speaking of which, we need to get him to the hospital and see if a doctor can tell us what's going on; he was sick during the spell getting home and it seems like it's still got a hold on him."

" _Good,_ " he said glaring in Kai's direction.

"Do you want to come with us?"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said sternly "or leaving you alone with him."

"Oh right," Kai snorted "because I'm such a danger to her and all, I forgot. I wonder how we survived this long."

"Jer really – I'm fine; if he was going to kill me he would have by now-"

"It's true," he chimed in.

"So why don't you head out and we'll be right behind you."

Jeremy looked skeptically between her and Kai.

"He's slow, he needs help moving around; just trust me."

He glared over at Kai again before nodding and walking out the front door.

" _What the hell was that?_ " she hissed walking towards him.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," he said back with equal irritation.

"You're mad at _me_?"

"Oh I'm just idly standing by watching your boyfriend fawn all over you."

"Ex," she corrected "and he's happy to see me… being back from the dead and all."

"He looked like he was about to get down on one knee."

"Haven't you ever missed anyone before?"

Kai's lack of a response had her raising her eyebrows taken aback; his quick wit to anything thrown at him telling her he was intentionally not answering. Bonnie shook her head and reached for his arm to rest it around her shoulders but he grabbed her waist and pinned her to the wall behind him.

" _Stop it._ "

"I'm just making sure you remember," he said with a dangerous undertone.

"Remember what?"

" _That I'm not sharing._ "

His voice dropped and she felt it shoot straight down her spine; her body responding to the husky directive. Kai hovered so close his nose was grazing against hers and his refusal to break eye contact had her breath coming out in small puffs, pushing against his chest to create some breathing room. Kai took a step back but didn't make any effort to move towards the door and Bonnie shook her head, snaking her arm around his lower back and steadying him before heading outside.

"Keys?" he asked and Bonnie scoffed in response. "I'm well equipped to drive Damon's Camaro; I've been doing it for years now."

"Somehow I don't trust your driving skills in your current state," she said and walked over to the driver's side, opening the door and pulling the front seat back.

"I don't even get shotgun?"

"Quit whining," she huffed and pushed him halfway inside.

Putting the seat back she made sure everything was all set and started off towards the hospital.

"Do you know where you're going?" she heard from behind her.

"Yes, there's a hospital that was near my college – maybe twenty minutes from here if we take the highway."

Bonnie felt Jeremy's eyes on her before looking over his shoulder at Kai and back to her.

"What?" she wondered glancing over.

"Nothing," he answered, staring at her a moment too long like he was trying to read her and looked back at the road.

"Okay…" she drawled out "So what's been going on in your life? Who was the girl you were with; your girlfriend?"

" _No,_ " he let out harshly, sounding insulted at the mention of it "she's just someone I've hung out with a couple times. I couldn't even think about dating anyone; I can't imagine caring about anyone else like that – especially this quickly."

Bonnie bit down on the inside of her cheek and gripped the steering wheel harder; her guilty conscious rearing its ugly head again as flashes of her sexual encounters with Kai came front and center. Her mind drifted to more intimate and genuine moments; like the way he opened up about his family and chased her nightmares away that were undeniably alluring. She glanced up at the mirror to Kai's dark eyes staring back at her, dropping them back down to avoid his gaze and tried to physically shrug it off.

"I don't know," she offered "I did tell you that I was dying and it would be the last time you'd see me, and it's already been, what – 8 months? I'm not saying I wanted you to go out of your way to find it but if it did happen to fall into your life then I wouldn't be hurt or angry with you over it."

"Well you don't have to worry; you and Elena are the only women I care about."

"Elena," she sighed happily, missing her best friend some days so much to the point of physical pain. This was the girl that she had talked to just about every day and spent more or less their entire lives together. Not being with her and gossiping over every little things that's happened in their lives is a little blessing she took for granted, the realization coming to her now that there were facets of her life she had to keep hidden.

"Yeah she's going to be shocked to see you; our last attempt to get you out of there didn't go quite as planned."

"Yeah," she let out slowly, relaying the vivid encounter of Kai's father possessing him and threatening to end his life "that could have gone better."

"What happened? Damon went to Portland to find the coven leader and when he came back he was pissed – saying the man blamed _you._ "

Bonnie cringed internally picturing how that altercation turned out when Joshua came back unsuccessful and running out of time; and the over the top dramatization Damon would have displayed in his usual manor.

"To be fair his father was to blame for some of it; his cut and dry outlook on life and responses just rubbed me the wrong way."

"What _happened_?"

"He... possessed Kai and when he was going to kill him in front of me I… stopped him."

"You should have just let him and come home."

"Hey," Kai interjected from the back and Jeremy turned to face him.

"Damon told us all about you – _what you are,_ what you did to your family, and how you treated Bonnie. I can't even imagine what you've put her through since he left."

"No, you can't," he said flashing a bright smile and Bonnie felt a sinking feeling thinking about all of the innuendos she's going to be hearing.

"If you think you're going to continue whatever forced association you had with her – you're wrong."

"You're funny – telling me what I'm going to do when you couldn't be farther off."

"You're no friend to Bonnie, you're a murderer."

"Wow, bet she's never befriended one of those."

"Guys I'm right here," she chimed in, feeling oddly invisible in a topic involving her.

"I see you," Kai smirked and Bonnie's glare met his gaze in the mirror "jump in any time you like."

Kai went to clear his throat and it turned into a coughing fit, holding the center of his chest with his eyes shut tight. Bonnie had the distinct feeling that this illness was more supernatural than scientific leaving the doctors with more questions and limited answers. The spell his father casted on him last time was meant to suffocate him to the point of his death; his loophole being able to come back to life in the prison world and it wore off.

"What if you have to die?" she thought out loud, both turning to look at her signaling it was said vocally. "I'm serious! The spell wore off last time because you died and came back; this time you were on the brink of death but were able to cross over to present day. I think your body is still being attacked like a stomach virus and you need to reboot your system to flush it out."

"So you're saying the only way to save me – is to kill me."

Her non-response had him falling into a heap of laughter.

"Just when I think it can't get any better. Too bad we aren't still trapped in an alternate universe where I can be killed and brought back to life within hours."

"No, but we did hit with you two different types of resurrection spells; one of them has to work."

"I'm not itching to find out," he grumbled and she could read his sour expression by a quick look.

"Fine, then we'll see what the doctor has to say; see if soup and rest is the answer."

"It's helped before," he sighed and she couldn't help smiling out of the corner of her mouth.

Bonnie turned off the next exit and the hospital was right around the corner. She pulled up to Whitmore hospital parking close to the entrance and hopped out. Kai slowly untangled his way out of the back seat and leaned against Bonnie as the three of them made their way inside.

"There's a free clinic upstairs, we can get your vitals checked and go from there."

" _So doctorly,_ " he teased "she can do the job _and_ knows the information behind it."

"Well when half your friends are vampires you pick up on the medical side of things pretty quickly. Plus, Elena came to Whitmore to work in the hospital so I spent a lot of my free time last year helping her study. Maybe she's here today."

"I'm going to give her a call – let her know you're here – I'll meet you up there," Jeremy said and walked back out the front entrance.

Bonnie lead Kai up the stairs and down the winding hallways until she heard a screech from behind her; halting her mid-step.

"BONNIE?"

Her eyes watered instantly at the voice, spinning around to see Elena sprinting full speed at them. She let go of Kai's waist just in time as Elena's momentum running into her had her stumbling backwards.

"I can't believe you're really here," Elena cried into her shoulder and Bonnie felt the tears falling down her face "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Bonnie muttered squeezing her best friend tighter.

"But I always believed I would see you again; no prison or alternate universe could keep you away. Or the prisoner that kept you trapped there longer," Elena added leaning away to glare at Kai beside her.

" _Hi_ ," he said with his brightest smile and winked.

Elena stared him down before looking back at Bonnie with sheer joy.

"So what was it like? What did you do? How did you get through it after Damon left?"

"Yeah Damon really was the glue that held us all together," Kai added.

"And how did you survive _months_ with just him?" she asked dubiously.

"With a lot of patience," Bonnie laughed "and when that didn't work – arguing."

"Yeah we had a few ways of dealing with each other," Kai said behind barely contained mischief.

Bonnie was convinced if looks could in fact kill Kai would have keeled over from the daggers shooting out of her eyes. Kai looked between the two, his smile widening when he landed on Bonnie and shrugged leaning against the wall. Elena and Bonnie continued chatting through their long overdue reunion when she noticed Kai lean off the wall closer to her.

"That sign says the clinics down the hall, I don't want to break up our _Three's 'Company_ vibe but I'm going to check if anyone's down there - I'll be right back."

"Okay," Bonnie nodded and both watched him walk down the hall and turn the corner, looking back at Elena wearing a knowing grin.

"What?"

"He's pretty cute."

"Oh my God," she scoffed rolling her eyes.

"He _is_ ; sociopath and dangerous murderer yes but he definitely has the looks going for him. Damon didn't say anything about that – only that he looked like he was 14."

"Well that's a stretch," she snorted "maybe _eighteen_ but he does look young; ironic that he should be almost 40 by now."

"Yeah, Damon's almost 150 years older than me so I guess you can't really judge someone based off their outer beauty."

Both looked at each other and laughed until there were tears in her eyes; overwhelmed with happiness over being able to laugh with her friend again.

"Where is he, by the way?"

Bonnie saw a flicker of something in her eyes and her smile froze, forced to stay in place as she glanced behind her.

"He should be here any minute, I was already here but he is on his way."

"Why were you already here?"

"Caroline's mom," she sighed "she's sick – cancer – and she's running out of time."

"No," Bonnie let out in a tormented noise; flashes of growing up with Sheriff Forbes as a surrogate mother along with Elena's playing out through countless scenarios "where's Caroline?"

"Out with Stefan, trying to keep her mind off of it."

"But she should be here," Bonnie argued "what if something happened to her, or she got worse and she wasn't here for it?"

"I know," Elena said sadly causing Bonnie to be hit with another realization.

"She already is worse isn't she?"

Elena looked up at her equally emotional stare and her eyes were brimmed with tears, nodding slowly.

Bonnie let out a gust of air and felt her chest ache in response, the heartbreak of losing another mother transcending into physical pain.

"I need to see her," she said without a second thought and started down a random hallway.

"What about Kai?"

"He's in the clinic how much trouble could he get himself into? I'll be ten minutes."

Bonnie looked over at Elena and took note of her wary expression before it quickly faded.

"Unless you know something I don't?"

"No, just thinking about everyone that's going to be meeting at a hospital – a lot of vampires," she laughed and Bonnie joined in, linking her arm through Elena's as they turned the corner to go back downstairs.

"I think I've heard a joke or two about a vampire walking into a hospital and turning it into a blood bank."

"They should be so lucky," Elena added and they chatted aimlessly, her mind momentarily drifting to Kai wondering if he found a doctor as they made their way to Liz's room.


	2. Chapter 2

Kai took a turn down the third identical hallway of bare white walls and iridescent lighting and wondered how anyone managed to live long enough to find a doctor in this place. He continued to follow the arrows leading him through the longest route possible and rubbed the front of his chest; his heart thudding once loudly making him lose his breath. He leaned back against the wall hunched over, gritting his teeth in aggravation hearing his breath come out at as a wheeze. A woman screaming and yelling for help zipped by Kai and turned left; her panic coming with a flashing red sign that he was close to his destination. Straightening his posture he continued on heading left and saw the words _Clinic_ outside a door at the end of the hall. Blowing out a breath he trailed his hand along the railing making his way down the right side as a few people were walking towards him. His mind too absorbed to focus on anything outside his internal barrier; he made it halfway to his destination before a woman's laugh caught his attention.

Slowing to a stop his eyes trailed left landing on three people – assumedly doctors based off their fancy white coats – and locked in on a dark haired bright eyed woman in her late 30's standing in between a man and another woman. The guy said something close to her ear and she let out a wholehearted laugh; the sound cooling Kai's body temperature down until an icy chill coated his skin. Kai felt a rush of awareness that he hadn't experienced in decades and watched the same effect overcome her; the magnetic force bringing her eye-line straight to his. He watched the color drain from her face and felt a smile spreading like the Cheshire cat across his own, her dropping the clipboard in response and jumping at the sound.

" _Sorry_ ," he heard her say "I just remembered there's a patient in room 103 that needed to get a follow-up; would you mind checking in on them?"

Both doctors looked from her to each other with a skeptical expression before slowly descending back down the hallway – leaving them alone. Kai looked her over and felt his hands tingling with adrenaline.

"Joset-"

" _Motus_!" she roared blowing Kai backwards breaking through a closed door into a dark room.

Kai grunted out a breath when his back connected with the door and hit the ground hard; rolling to his side coughing and shaking his head to clear his hazy vision.

" _I hate that one_ ," he muttered followed by a sharp exhale of pain, holding his temple as bright lights blinded him.

"You should have never come back Kai!"

"Couldn't – miss – the twins – special birthday," he gritted.

"You are just as crazy as the last time I saw you," she spewed "homicidal and still trying to kill your family."

"Just one," Kai laughed through the pain, forcing his head up to stare into her angry and terrified eyes "maybe two."

Josette fisted her hand and what little airway Kai had closed completely - his already slow heartbeat causing dark spots to form in his vision as his mind felt light and distant. Kai fell to the side and caught himself at the last moment; a white-hot force building in his core and shooting out his fingertips as he yelled out and slammed his palm off the floor. The ground shook as did Jo's hold on him and he held his palm up leaving her momentarily paralyzed. Kai huffed out aching breaths, the magic rubbing against his veins like sandpaper and he knew what little he had left was quickly dissipating.

"Long time no see, sissy," he chuckled as he slowly rose to his feet "gotta say I'm not disappointed in your methods – starting things right out the gate. As you know I've never been one for patience either."

Josette muttered a few words in Latin and his eyes started to burn, dropping his palm to rub them and heard her running for the door. Throwing his hand towards the entrance the door swung shut and locked, her feeble attempt to open it forcing a chuckle out of Kai. She turned and the scorch behind his closed eyelids spread throughout the rest of his head.

"You really must be out of your mind if you think I'll let you anywhere near those twins," she yelled "they are a week away from merging and all of this will finally be over – I won't let you ruin our lives again!"

" _So dramatic_ ," he puffed "at least you had a life that you got to live out."

"And it's going to stay that way!"

"You know," he groaned under the constant boil and flicked his wrist causing a tray to propel towards Josette, shielding her face and losing her concentration "this would be a lot more intimidating if you weren't coming at me with parlor tricks we learned when we were ten. I mean, come on - have you not picked up anything new in almost twenty years?"

"I know a few new ways on how to kill _you_ ," she sneered but Kai could perceive that she was lying.

"No, I don't think that's true. In fact, I don't think anyone knows what to do about the monster let out of its cage – should make for an interesting turn of events."

Josette went to argue back but stopped before the words got out; a sharp cry of pain slipping out as she held the sides of her head and slid backwards down the wall. Kai stared down at her perplexed at what he was witnessing when he noticed blood trickling down her nose.

"What's going on?" he asked walking over to her.

Josette's eyes flashed with fear as a cry pierced his ears and flinched back at the sound reverberating through his skull. He took the last few steps and crouched in front of her, taking in her current state and quickly deducing the reasons for what's causing it.

"Jo!" he urged when she tried pushing him away and turned to the side coughing blood into her palm.

" _It's dad_ ," she choked out and he could have sworn he saw a flash of red, his hatred spiking at the man already drawing first blood when he's been back in modern day with the living for an hour.

"And doing what he does best; trying to take another piece off the chessboard," he wrapped his hands around her forearms as she thrashed to break free, both of their weakened states leaving them at a disadvantage. "Fortunately for you – you're still an integral part of my own game plan."

Kai slid his hands down and clasped hers, squeezing and breathing in deep as it felt like his veins were rubbing against each other – the magic burning out of him and leaving a searing pain behind. He shouted out in exasperation as he felt his heart beat slower to the point that an extreme whirling of vertigo knocked the wind out of him. Josette's relieved sounds reassured him his action worked and survived yet again another one of their father's obstacles. Kai's eyes were closed and head down as he focused on taking long slow breaths when the door burst open behind him.

"Damon!" he heard Bonnie's voice from the hallway and was yanked to his feet, hitting the wall behind him with a grunt as Damon held him by the front of his shirt.

Kai's groggy eyes glanced down to Damon pulling his right arm back - aiming for his chest.

" _No_!" Bonnie shrieked and Damon dropped to his knees instantly, Kai knowing all too well of the agony that comes attached with a magical aneurism.

Damon's noises quieted and Kai's lids fluttered back open to Bonnie's green eyes looking up at him. Her face was one of anxiety and concern and he couldn't help smiling; leaning his forehead down to hers before she quickly moved back a step. She glanced over at the door where Elena had just stood and at her feet to Damon – Kai following her path and quickly checking beside him.

"Where is she?" he ground out, his illness physically affecting his mind and body.

"Safe from you," he responded and stood, Bonnie separating them "and whatever that baby Hades mind has conjured up from being locked away in a Hell dimension."

" _Baby Hades_ ," Kai snickered "I gotta remember that one. How's your time back home been, by the way? Reunited with your one and only – happy little love birds – too busy to call or write once in a while; I can understand getting caught up in the moment."

"It was a little busy to shoot Bon-Bon a text when I was running around Portland trying to save her from –"

"The big bad wolf, the monster in the closet – although I do believe those descriptions are a better fit for you. Would Bonnie be the damsel in distress in your story?"

Kai glanced down from his stare down with Damon to Bonnie who turned her head back towards Damon as well to listen to his answer. Damon looked down to answer her instead.

"Sue me for giving a damn. I got out thanks to you, thought it was only fair I returned the favor."

Kai noticed Damon tended to ease his voice to almost pleading when he was trying to back himself out of a corner or make someone see his side of things; a trait he wasn't too fond of.

"Yeah it's a real shame you weren't able to stay longer, you missed out on some pretty magical times. Some would say we brought the house down."

"Yup being cooped in isolation with someone you feel frustration and animosity towards is a tricky thing to get a handle on," Bonnie said swiftly, refusing to face Kai as she conversed with Damon "you know all about it – we've suffered from it for years."

Damon smirked and pulled her by the hand away from him but not able to get out of ear shot. "Bonnie – you're home now – you can go back to your life and not have to give this runt of the litter any more scraps of your time; leave his family to deal with him."

"Damon," she let out quietly and crossed her arms "it's not as black and white as you think; there are things that I know that make me not able to just walk away. I mean I am the one who let him out after all, I know at least one person I need to be keeping an eye out for."

"He was trying to kill Jo when I ran in here!" he argued.

"Not quite," Kai murmured "actually – I think I was trying to save her? Or prolong her life until the foreseeable future; I can't have her dying before she's supposed to."

"You always seem to have an answer, don't you?" he asked with his usual smile that tips between pompous and arrogance.

"I'm a pretty smart guy," Kai shrugged and Damon looked back at Bonnie putting his hands around her biceps and squeezing; Kai's teeth clenching at the gesture.

"The freak show twin coven can handle this on their own; don't get involved."

"Weird," she mused "it's almost as if you're telling me - not a friendly suggestion."

"I'm telling you _for your safety_ ; Kai's father will do anything to take him out and I don't want you getting hit in the crossfire."

Bonnie went to speak but closed her mouth, tightening her grip across her chest as his comment sunk in. Kai breathed in deep watching Damon's words play back in her head and in the next moment he had her pulled roughly into his chest.

"Did I mention it's great to have my wicked witch back in town? This place almost wasn't the same without you."

"Wow, that one's a doozy," Kai chimed in "had to dig deep for that flattering remark. I'm already coming up with a few zingers you must have used on Elena by now; how about ' _well this date didn't suck'_?"

"Come on Bonnie I can put us both out of our misery right now and boom – problem solved," Damon tried again leaning in closer.

"I just went through all the trouble of getting him here – give me a little time to figure out if I made the right decision or not before you go ripping out any hearts." She leaned away and looked directly into his eyes "Just... do this for me, okay?"

Damon looked at Kai over Bonnie's gaze and he could read the different emotions flashing across his features; hatred, bitterness, and a severe case of egomania blended with discomfort questioning how and why she could side with Kai over him. The non-verbal admission had Kai's smile recharged and fueling the energy in his tired body, Damon scolding him before looking down at Bonnie.

"I'll do my best."

"Oh my God, Bonnie!" A blonde girl shrieked beside him as she came barreling through the door. "Elena said you were back but I wouldn't believe it until I got to do this."

The girl wrapped her arms around her and squeezed until water poured out of Bonnie eyes, not sure if the pained noise that slipped out was because of her bones crushing under the tight embrace. Kai glanced over to the guy walking in behind her and they exchanged once-overs, both turning back to the Sex in the City reunion in front of them.

"You seriously could not have come at a better time," she gushed leaning back to look at her "I think we may have found a way to save my mom!"

"You – what?" Bonnie asked with slight confusion through her overjoyed expression.

"Yeah! It's a long story but basically vampire blood is the cure all once again. Stefan and I just came back from a test run of our own and I believe it is going to work."

Kai and Bonnie checked Stefan's reaction which didn't seem nearly as hopeful as the blonde's.

"Caroline, that's amazing! If this really is the answer then I'm so happy you found it."

"And I'm so happy you're back!" she squealed "and since there is so much to be happy about there is only one thing that has to be done – a welcome home party!"

Kai smirked at the suggestion and watched Bonnie's smile freeze; her eyes fading from delight to alarm.

"Oh... no, we don't have to do that," she played off "I'm having my own intimate gatherings with everyone I love already; we don't need to go making a spectacle out of it."

"Bonnie it _is_ a big deal; we've all had to live almost a full year without you, not knowing where you were or if you were coming back and now here you are –"

"Back from the dead?" Kai proposed and Caroline turned towards the unknown voice; doing a double take and raising her eyebrows taken by surprise.

"You must be Kai."

"Glad to know Damon's gotten everyone already up to speed – helps us all get past those pesky awkward introductions."

Caroline gave him another visual examination; Kai knowing from the last few months how his sickly and pale complexion comes off but still smirked at her look of appraisal. She turned quickly back to Bonnie and was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"So tomorrow night – around 7 at Stefan's?"

"Care-"

" _Oh come on_! This is just what you need; people around you and telling you how much they've missed you. I won't invite everyone just the selective few."

"Right," Bonnie huffed unconvinced, looking skeptical and uneasy but nodding in agreement anyway.

Caroline leaned back in to hug her tight and they shared their touching first goodbye, Stefan walking up to her and hugging her as well before they headed back upstairs to her mother's room.

"Did you notice everyone hugged you?" Kai wondered out loud "I mean _every single person_ – does that usually happen? Is that the average greeting between you all?"

Bonnie gave him an authentic dumbfounded look and shook her head, ignoring his questions and walking over to him.

"You look pretty sickly – worse than how I left you ten minutes ago – how did you manage that?"

"I told you, I had to rescue Josette from yet another endeavor against my father and save the day."

"Your magic?" she questioned which he nodded to.

"Gone'zo, but I have a couple different options on where I could find more."

"Let's just focus on one problem at a time – like seeing if a doctor has anything that'll hold you over short-term."

Kai reached out to rest his arm against her shoulder and saw Damon out of his peripheral tense and walk towards them.

"Woah," Bonnie huffed putting her arm out to stop Damon's beeline for him "look at him – he can barely stand let alone walk around the hospital."

"I don't want his vile little hands anywhere near you after what he did to you in the cave."

Kai's fit of giggles earned him a swift elbow to the ribs - which just made him snicker harder. Kai felt Damon's hand on his chest pushing him back against the wall and met his glare with a bright smile.

" _You almost killed her._ "

"Collateral damage for the repercussions of trying to leave me behind; I'm impulsive. I'm sure you've never done anything impulsive that's put Bonnie in harm's way... right Damon?"

Kai felt his hand lifting to tighten around his neck but he refused to make any sign of irritation.

"You talk too much."

"I'm just getting started."

" _Enough_!" Bonnie rushed out "you're too heavy for me to carry in this state; Damon grab a wheelchair from the clinic."

"Why don't I just throw him down the hallway instead? It'll be much more efficient."

"Because I don't want to hear him complaining about broken bones on top of everything else that's hurting."

Damon stood his ground – separating them – refusing to waver from his stare down or current position. Bonnie shoved the side of his arm to demonstrate her point and he loosened his grip around Kai's neck; slowly dropping it and looking over at her. Damon tried pleading with his eyes to sway her but Bonnie stared blankly back at him until he got the point and walked out the door.

"Kai – _please_ – stop with all of the implications and suggestive remarks; it's not funny."

"It's pretty funny."

"You are the only person in the entire world that's getting any type of joy out of this."

"That's alright, as long as it's making at least one of us happy - right?"

Bonnie put her palm against his chest and he really enjoyed how easy it was to get a rise out of her.

" _I mean it Kai_ – cut it out."

"Or else?" he cooed with a mischievous grin; her sweet smile and single nod earning an eyebrow raise of peaked interest.

He reached for the side of her neck pulling her forward but she smacked it away and jumped back; the wheelchair rolling in a moment later followed by Damon.

"You couldn't find me an electric one?" he asked begrudgingly, looking over the wheelchair with disdain "I better at least be able to pop a couple wheelie's on this."

"Says the forty year-old," Bonnie grumbled as she wheeled it in front of him and he plopped down with a thud.

"With the looks of a dashing young stud," Kai finished for her, spinning around in the wheelchair a few times to get the hang of it.

He turned and aimed for the door – which Damon happened to be standing in front of – and nearly knocked him out of the way as he rounded the corner and zipped down the hall; curious to see what mysterious medical synopsis and treatment this establishment for him.

-x—x—x-

Bonnie had spent the entirety of the day with Caroline and Elena; Kai being forced to stay at the hospital overnight for tests giving her free range to catch up with her two best friends on the longest awaited girl time she's ever had to endure. They spent the first half of the day getting her reacquainted with the real world – being pampered with a mini shopping spree and new hairstyle to physically remind her of the change she's been through and that she is moving forward in the present.

The second half of the day was spent in their dorm room where they huddled together on the bed, laughing and reminiscing about what the others had missed in the past year over pizza. Bonnie had been very specific about the details and the wording of how the prison world was but was too exhausted to get into her new strange friendship with Kai. They both clued her into the tragedies their lives flipped and its axis into after they thought she and Damon had died; Elena sinking so low over the loss of her love that she turned to hallucinogens to dull the ache inside.

"So what happened?"

"The last time... I took too much; I fell into a bad frame of mind and I couldn't differentiate who or what was real. After that I had to take a step back and remind myself that I was still here and had living to do. I couldn't put so much focus on what couldn't be changed and instead turned to my profession where I can help save a life."

Bonnie smiled at Elena's strength to be able to pull herself out of the hole she was slipping into and build a better life for herself. She felt proud for her friend, but also felt a pang of sadness being forgotten – or temporarily put on hold – while they continued on with their lives. She knew she couldn't fault her for it; for all intents and purposes she was dead and she didn't want her friends moping around or spiraling - but there was still something. Bonnie sipped her champagne and turned her attention to Caroline who dove into her tug-of-war with Stefan over their feelings that they both have but refuse to let the other in on – maybe even themselves.

"After Damon he just took off and started a new life; no phone calls, not even an infuriatingly simple "not dead" text to ease my mind from wondering the thousand and one possibilities of what could be happening to him – which I did. And then he tries to come back and just pick things up where they left off!" She gasped and threw her hand up in the air, the over the top but genuine reaction that is typical Caroline making her heart warm.

"You guys seemed okay at the hospital."

"We're trying," she huffed "It's – I don't know. But you did catch me in a good mood; finding a cure for my mom _and_ having my best friend back all in one day!"

Caroline's beaming smile was contagious as it spread across her own face, looking between the two of them and feeling true gratitude for being able to enjoy a moment she's lived through countless times; one she didn't think she would get to have again. Elena had been practically pacing around the room when she got into her reunion with Damon, not too bashful to let her in on just how much they had missed each other.

"When I first saw him – after thinking I never would again – I swear it was like I felt sparks."

Bonnie coughed slightly into her drink at the reference but played it off like it went down the wrong tube.

"It was amazing," she went on "like my entire body was reawakening with this passion and _hunger_ to be near him again. I've felt a lot of intense and unexplainable things for him before but _nothing_ compared to this."

Bonnie could hear Elena saying the words but couldn't physically see either friend; her mind playing out the moments between her and Kai in front of her eyes like her own private showing. She gulped back what was left in her glass as _sparks, reawakening,_ and _hunger_ rang in her ears. The personal montage was so clear she could practically feel her skin tingling under his touch as his powerful blue gaze saw straight through her; the knowledge of that leaving her vulnerable and at a disadvantage under his scrutiny. If there were two things she never wanted to feel in Kai's presence it was being at a disadvantage – both physically or mentally – and feeling even the slightest bit of helplessness. Her mind tips back and forth wondering if it's better or in fact worse that he has made her feel both and it hasn't ended in a battle royal of last man standing.

"Earth to Bonnie," Elena laughed waving a hand in front of her.

"Sorry," she shook her head out of her train of thought "what did you say?"

"What were _you_ thinking about?" Elena chimed and both turned their complete attention on Bonnie.

"Maybe about that serial killer looking like a little sick puppy that you had to bring home," Caroline offered and both smiled wider at her.

"That's a strange way of putting it."

"No," Elena piped "It does sound like a pretty fair parallel – both look small and innocent, wounded and in need of someone to take care of them, not to mention adorable to look at. It's when that little Cujo grows up and attacks someone that you realize he's actually pretty dangerous."

Bonnie stared at Elena and tilted her head slightly, waiting for the moment Kai was brought up and seeing how long it would take before the warnings started.

"If you're trying to tell me Kai is a dangerous person – I know. I actually know a lot of fairly dangerous people, most are no threat to me."

"But Kai _is_ ," Elena pressed "Damon told me that he shot you with an arrow when you both tried to escape. That he stole your magic and used it against you – terrorized you so he could come back to present day. He told us about what he did to his little brothers and sisters... what he plans on doing to Jo and the rest of the coven, and what he would do to any of us if we tried getting in his way. There is not a single ounce of good in him; he's a sociopath and we are all in danger – you included."

"Me."

" _Yeah_ , he's not going to care about any of the good deeds you did for him when we're all fighting to save Jo. I get why you brought him back with you – whether he threatened you or you felt obligated to after being stuck there for that long – but you did it; you made it home and now you're with the people that care about you and that's all that matters."

"That's true, that is the most important thing," Bonnie stated and hovered over what to say next "but the thing is... I didn't bring him back because he threatened to kill me if I didn't. And I didn't feel obligated to out of pity, but - out of feeling like it was the right thing to do."

Bonnie shook her head at their confused and worried-for-her expressions and blew out a breath, hoping there's some secret sentence to put an end to this conversation.

"It's too much to explain right now, I have had one long and adventurous day and nothing sounds more satisfying then a night in my bed."

Bonnie stretched her legs at the thought and felt her limbs ache from being in the same position for so long.

"You should just stay here," Caroline buzzed "you'll be all by yourself at the house and here we can have a slumber party."

"That does sound like fun – rain check? I'll be fine, believe it or not I've actually gotten used to hanging out by myself and it not being weird or painfully boring."

The three of them talked for another ten minutes before Bonnie forced herself off the bed and out the door, the twenty minute ride back seeming to take forever in her tired state until she finally reached the destination she's been waiting to see; her Gram's house. Her eyes water as she stepped out into the dark night and took in her favorite childhood home; a brown two story house – the "second floor" what her Gram's considered it to be but was really one giant attic with the sloping roof overhead – and made her way inside. She lost track of time as she walked around the house and took in every bit of it; memories and emotions attached. What felt like hours passed and she checked the clock to see she had only been home for an hour, 11:35PM flashing.

As she made her way to the room in the left backhand corner that she claimed as her own when she was 10, she checked the dresser for nightwear and went with a long t-shirt and a pair of shorts that she probably wore around that time. Stripping down she hopped into bed and felt the heaviness behind her eyes begging her to let sleep overcome her. She closed them and waited to drift off – and waited – tossing and turning as her thoughts wouldn't stop making her feel the spins behind her eyelids.

Bonnie sat up straight as the sudden nausea made her feel like she was going to be sick and heard a tapping on the window beside her. Making her way through the darkened room over to the window she slowly pulled back the curtain; Kai's tired eyes mirroring her own. Bonnie went to open the window but Kai tilted his head towards the front of the house and was out of view before she could stop him. Biting the inside of her cheek she looked out the window and knew she locked the door so he wouldn't be able to get in, but also aware of the fact that he's single-handedly the most relentless person she's met. Arguing with herself all the way to the front door she pressed her forehead lightly against it with her hand on the knob and opened it before she lost her nerve.

-x—x—x—

"Hello there," he smiled leaning against a pillar in front of the door, taking in her bare legs barely covered by a long'ish t-shirt.

"What are you doing here Kai?" she questioned tiredly.

"Got bored," he shrugged walking up to her as she blocked his path "thought you could use the company."

"I've had company all day actually, I think I hit my quota."

"Ah but you haven't talked much to me – come on! I had to take a cab and everything to get here from the hospital and let me tell you, the cab driver was _not_ happy when I was light."

"Do you need money?"

"Nah, I took care of it," he brushed off and walked close enough that she was forced to move backwards or risk bumping into his chest."

"Kai-"

"I like your hair by the way; very curly and fun."

"Oh," she said with drawn eyebrows, placing her hand on the side of her head at the compliment "thanks."

Kai nodded and made his way down the hall, turning right into the kitchen and checking the fridge. He pulled out frozen _Hungry-Man_ TV-dinners and shrugged, grabbing two and turning back to Bonnie's bewildered expression.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm... hungry. I guess I should have asked; being in a world by myself for 18 years I've gotten used to everything being open and mine for the taking."

Kai stabbed holes in the film and preheated the oven, grabbing a couple drinks for them and noticed Bonnie was still giving him the same look.

"What?"

"I don't know – just the way you came in here, like you knew where it was already. How did you know where to find me anyway?"

Kai looked around the kitchen, his eyes falling on her near the entrance and figured now was as good a time as any to tell her.

"I figured you'd be at your Gram's house."

"So how did you know where to go – another stop in your eternal 1994 tour?"

"No, a little earlier; mid 80s?"

Bonnie smile faded and she stared at him with a blank expression looking like her brain short-circuited; him taking the moment to put the food in the oven and leaned over the counter.

"See there's a reason your blood is the key to escaping the prison world; the Bennett's and the Gemini coven have gone back centuries and have been known to dabble and help the other for the Greater Good – or some higher-power cliché like that. You can travel between both worlds because your bloodline created the spell to keep the prisoner locked inside."

"I pieced that much together when I figured out you didn't know what it was."

"And killed me."

She shrugged and looked away "and you just keep coming back for more."

"Absolutely," he laughed feeling like that phrase fit him pretty well "but if you hadn't killed me maybe I would have felt compelled to tell you that I _knew_ a Bennett witch long before I met you."

Bonnie's head snapped back to his with shock and... maybe a little bit of anger.

"You never told me you knew my grandmother."

Kai took a sip of his coke looking at her over the glass, walking around the counter and passing her back down the hallway until he landed on the couch with a sigh. He looked over her anxious expression and the obvious change she just went through at the mention of her grandmother.

"How do you know her?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," he chuckled.

"I will," she answered automatically and he was almost caught off guard, his drink hovering close to his lips before he took another sip.

"Sheila was close with my parents and came to my house a few times to visit when I was younger. After my nightmares I started... acting out, you could say and my mom brought me here to see if she could help," he smiled recalling the memory "she just said, _he's going to stay with me for a while_. My mom panicked over how my dad would react and brought me back home; he didn't seem to care what happened either way. A week later I was back here converting the attic to my new chill pad."

Bonnie tucked her legs up in between them and his hand glided against her smooth skin without a second thought. He leaned his head back against the couch and rolled it towards her on his left as Bonnie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You should put your arms inside your sleeves – so much more comfortable."

"I used to do that when I was little," she smiled lazily and shoved her arms inside each sleeve, curling up more into the couch "keep going, I want to know more."

"Like what?"

"How long were you here?"

"For the summer," he nodded and her eyes widened from their tired squinted state.

Kai looked around the adjoining rooms and saw his younger self walking around aimlessly through the house - investigating all the new things in an unknown place and not having any trouble making himself comfortable. Sheila Bennett had opened her home up to him when he was at his lowest point – no questions asked – and never judged him for it.

"You remind me of her a lot," he laughed softly holding onto the back of her calf "she was a firecracker; had things done her way and didn't take any shit. But she was probably the most genuine person I've met - maybe the second one now."

Bonnie snorted sleepily at his remark and he continued tracing designs across her skin.

"No, your Gram's was great; she welcomed me in like I was the long lost child and treated me better than my own parents. She talked to me, listened, made me feel like I wasn't so..."

"Alone?" Bonnie finished for him and he could hear Sheila's voice ringing in his ears.

"You know she said something to me once – when I was leaving – it kind of stuck. She told me we all possess peace of mind to be free from worries and find our own happiness, and with it no one was ever really alone. She encouraged me to _find peace_ and stay strong against my father." Kai looked over to Bonnie when she didn't respond and saw her eyes were filled to the top with tears, her lip quivering as she dropped her head forward. "What's wrong?"

Bonnie shook her head slowly looking suddenly tormented and Kai wasn't sure when the flip of emotion happened. He ran his hand around her leg and tugged her closer until her butt was against his thigh. Resting the side of his head on the couch near hers he watched her sad expression as she worked through whatever thoughts were clouding her.

"My Grams," she sniffled after a couple minutes of silence "she said something similar to me the last time I saw her – she told me she found peace because she made sure I'd find mine."

Kai smiled brightly at the statement; very _Sheila Bennett'esque_ that tended to have a lasting effect on the person she was speaking to.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Right before I got trapped in '94," she admitted, "I tried to bring her back but she refused, said she made a sacrifice and she was going to be fine."

"So your Gram's went out of her way to send you to my prison world... where she expected you to find peace."

Bonnie went to speak but closed her mouth and glared sharply up at him; their faces only a few inches apart.

"I don't like the way you mixed around what I said."

"I didn't mix it around - I simplified it."

"You just made it so much more complex than it needed to be," she huffed trying to pull her legs off him but her tired attempt was feeble at best.

"You know, Sheila did love me," he beamed knowing how uncomfortable this was making her adding all the incentive he needed "she thought I was funny, a nice kid... for the most part, someone who wasn't just a screw up or outcast. She said she could sense the darkness I had swirling inside; she tried warning me about my hatred fueling it and the source of it would be the end of me. I was at that age where I thought the merge would be my undoing but I should have known better – it's always the sins of the father."

"Do you think she helped you?" she yawned, her body conflicting with her mind to stay awake.

"I know she did," he murmured and ran his hand up her arm to her chin tilting it towards him "you should go to sleep."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," she mumbled closing her eyes.

"Oh I'm staying right here."

"What – no. Weren't you supposed to be in the hospital overnight?"

"Yeah," he snorted "like I was really going to sleep there. Come on you can't tell me you aren't a little happy that I'm here right now."

"Happy..."

"Relieved, relaxed, grateful – whichever works for you."

Bonnie laughed as hard as her exhausted mind could muster and Kai smirked at her reaction.

"The day I feel _relieved_ and _grateful_ in your presence will be the day I know I finally lost my mind."

"But you do feel relaxed," he quipped noticing she skipped over it. "good – I thought so too. I've noticed you've become less anxious and can even loosen up now; what a change from when we met, right?"

Bonnie kept her eyes closed to avoid his stare which gave him full advantage to read her expressions; her nose scrunching hearing someone else what she must have thought about at one point and shivered slightly – maybe sensing him staring her down.

"So, your bed or the couch?"

This got her to open her eyes, staring up at him defensively.

" _Not a chance._ "

"Such a dirty mind," he tsk'd "how do you manage to have everyday conversations with that going on?"

Bonnie shook her head baffled at his statement – coming from him out of every one – and his knowing grin earned an eye roll.

"Fine," she huffed "but just for tonight. You can take the couch," she said and swung her legs off him to stand.

He waited until she stood so he could stretch across and pulled her back down by the forearm before she was out of reach.

"Kai!" she squealed reaching down to de-tangle his arm around her stomach, her attempt an utter fail due to her current lack of strength or incentive.

" _You know you can't sleep without me,_ " he said deep under his breath and her body tensed in response.

" _Please_ ," she scoffed.

"Mm your mouth says one thing but your body says another," he purred running his fingers down the side of her arms and legs, glancing down in surprise "huh – I guess you are wearing shorts."

"Of course I'm wearing shorts!"

"Didn't look like it," he said against the back of her neck and felt goosebumps break out under his breath.

He looked down at their feet and leaned up to throw the blanket over them; the close proximity with the new added weight leaving him sweating within minutes.

"What are you doing..." she said slowly, tensing and leaning away from him as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Take it easy, sexual conquistador – I'm just getting more comfortable."

Kai stripped off his shirt and instantly felt cooler; pulling Bonnie flush against his chest and hummed in content. He felt her breathe out and her body unwound with it, leaning back closer into him finding a better position.

" _You're the insatiable one_ ," she barely got out in her semi-conscious state and he leaned down to bite the side of her neck; her dreary state letting her giggle and he smiled at the sound.

Closing his eyes he leaned back and rested his forehead against her hair, breathing in her shampoo until he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Bonnie could feel her achy limbs locked in place before she was fully awake, attempting to stretch them and feeling too confined to do anything. She tried to place where she was in her semi-dream state and moved from her side bumping into a solid chest. Turning to the right she saw the top of Kai's head resting against her shoulder and scanned the rest of the room immediately recognizing her Gram's style; quickly trying to ease off the couch but his grip curled around her stomach pulling her back.

Bonnie clenched her jaw aggravated with herself for not putting up more of a fight before she fell asleep but a. she was past the point of exhaustion and b. felt oddly comfortable with him after he opened up to her about him not only knowing her Gram's but living with her for a short period of time. And -begrudgingly – c. she felt more at ease after her conversation with him then how her day ended with her friends which was unsettling all on its own.

She felt like she was getting hit with the first signs of whiplash from abruptly switching between what her heart and mind wants; depending who's feeling more powerful on the task at hand. When it came to Kai, looking weak and exposed talking about his past made her heart pang for him and like Caroline described – she took him in like a wounded puppy. Once he gets back to health and starts wreaking havoc on his coven and most likely her childhood town going after Jo, her brain takes control and shuts off her emotional connection no matter what the cost. She'd be lying to herself if she didn't confess to being more than slightly panicked about what he is going to do – and how she is going to react to it.

Bonnie was about to lean away again when the silence amplified his shallow breathing against her neck; her concern rising when his exhale ended in a wheeze. Turning slowly in his embrace not to wake up she put her palm to his chest and noticed his heartbeat was uncharacteristically slow for the average person. His skin felt cold and clammy under her hand and the chill went straight through her. Contemplating her next move for a moment, she reached for the blanket wrapping it around their shoulders and pressed into him until her t shirt connected to his solid form.

Kai reached down with the arm that was under their heads and flattened her against him, leaning into her and nuzzling his face on her cheek trying to hide from the light.

" _Noo_ ," he groaned against her neck and the heat sent goosebumps across her skin.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered.

After a moment his body started to relax but tensed when she lifted her head and the light hit his closed lids again. He grumbled and tried to burrow his head out of view until he was between her neck and chest.

"Hey," she laughed lifting his head the same moment he turned and flipped her so she was on top of him; pulling the blanket completely over them.

"Better," he said huskily with his eyes closed.

"Not the word I'd use," she said as she tried to readjust her knees around him pressing on his shoulders for leverage.

"I can list off a few more."

"No no – I'm good, really. I have to get up but you can sleep a little longer."

"Why?"

"I have to take a shower before Care picks me up."

"For tonight?"

"Mm."

"Why is she getting you so early?"

"It's Caroline," she laughed "she's ten hours early for everything... sometimes twelve. We'll probably get lunch and watch her pick out three different outfits for me to wear."

Kai smiled lazily and slid his hands up her bare thighs.

"Ooh dress up, that'll be fun to see."

"Oh really, I don't remember anyone inviting you."

With his eyes still closed his smile widened and he yanked her against him murmuring gravelly " _so invite me_."

"I don't know," she drawled, playing out a few choice encounters and possible tragic outcomes that could happen if Kai was let loose in a room of crowded people.

After a moment too long of not answering he opened his eyes and a worn-out expression looked back at her.

"What's going on with you?" her eyebrows drew in and she put the back of her hand against his forehead pulling it back quickly "Kai – you feel... cold."

He tilted his head slightly "I'm not wearing a shirt."

"You've worn less-"she started and immediately regretted her choice of words, his eyebrow raise having her switching up tactics "and you're surrounded by body heat under a blanket right now."

Kai shrugged nonchalantly and lifted his hands up her back pulling her into him "warm me up."

"I can't," she mumbled against his shoulder "Caroline's going to be here in a half hour and you can't by lying here when she does. You can sleep for the next twenty minutes if you want but then you have to hide out upstairs. Or go back to the hospital where you should be anyway."

"They're not gonna be any help to me," he said against her skin and let her lean up enough to be eye level with him "but wise advice – don't get in the shower."

Bonnie felt her face take on a confused expression before the hidden meaning sunk in, scoffing and pushing against his chest lightly.

"You can barely open your eyes right now; you give yourself way too much credit."

"Yeah that won't stop me much – I can make it to that bathroom blind and backwards."

"Kai come on," she huffed and pushed so her arms were locked straight against his shoulders "we talked about this, maybe even twice now; this isn't happening anymore."

"No I don't believe I was there for this hypothetical conversation."

"It was very real and you were right there in front of me. If it escaped your mind I'll say it again – we can't do this anymore."

"Oh now I remember," he murmured "we were making it a secret rendezvous."

" _No_ , that's what you thought but we aren't – this can't – this isn't going to be a public or private thing. Whatever temporary insanity and built up tension we had from being cooped up with each other is over now."

Kai was silent for at least 20 seconds, long enough for Bonnie to wonder if he really heard her until his features changed to a ghost of a smile.

"You're wrong."

"What?" she asked wondering how she could be wrong on a decision she is making.

"You're _wrong_ ; I'm not some mentally unstable acid trip you succumbed to. But that's a pretty ironic way of putting it – since you can't get out of your head when it comes to me. You are right about the built up tension though... that's an obvious one," he laughed trailing his hands down her back around her butt and behind the back of her thighs.

"You think you know everything," she gritted at the constant battle of arguing against what he perceives her to feel.

" _I do_ , it's my curse. Well – actually we know my curse so I guess that's my gift? I get my highs and lows confused sometimes," he said through a roll of his eyes.

"Whatever you think I feel your narcissistic and overconfident mind magnifies it to a level nobody can reach."

"You like me, you told me yourself."

"And I've regretted it ever since," she said with a sad sigh, Kai having some weird effect on her when he's surrounding her and can coax the truth out of her.

"Doesn't mean it wasn't true."

"I don't have time for this," her glare sliced into his "I have to get dressed and get you out of here before-"

The knock on the door had her laughing in exasperation at how perfectly awful Caroline's timing could be. She leaped off Kai's lap and aggressively pulled him off the couch, pushing him with effort towards the stairs as he casually made his way up them.

"Oh just so you know I started falling asleep and the smell of burning rubber woke me up. Kitchen's intact – food was a little overcooked."

Bonnie stared up at him tapping her fingers against the banister until he turned with a final glance and winked before he was out of sight. She ran back to the couch and fixed it quickly throwing the blanket back over the top and running to the door.

"Hey," she said slightly out of breath.

"Hey..." Caroline said looking her over.

"I overslept," she shrugged imaging how her disheveled appearance must look and Caroline laughed walking past her.

"I bet it was long overdue, you probably didn't get an ounce of sleep after Damon left."

"Yeah, something like that," she said glancing back up the stairway "I didn't grab all the bags from your room last night but I have a few so I'll throw something on and we can go, just give me one minute."

"Okay," she chirped and walked over to the porch swing.

Bonnie zipped down the hall, looking at the entrance on the right in passing and noticed the two burnt TV dinners on the counter. Groaning internally she darted into the kitchen and threw the charred heap into the trash. Turning and heading into the back bedroom she looked through the new clothes going simple with a pair of black jeans, a soft green halter top, a black jacket with a collar and strap to tie around the middle and a matching pair of black boots. She checked her reflection and dabbed more of the concealer that's become her best friend on the two hickey's on her neck and collarbone. Heading back down the hall she grabbed the door and swung it closed in one swift movement.

"Well that was fast, but you look nice! I knew those boots were a good choice. But I do have something in mind for you tonight... maybe two," she beamed and Bonnie laughed shaking her head.

"I had an inkling you might."

Caroline smiled brightly and linked her arm through Bonnie's, both heading down the front steps to get something to eat. They had a few hours alone due to the fact Elena was stuck at work and Bonnie had forgotten how much she truly missed spending time with her other best friend. Elena and Caroline were similar in ways but different in many others – even through parts of their friendship – and Bonnie has picked up on it more ever since Elena shut off her humanity.

Caroline had a way of staying light and positive even during the darkest times and truly was that one beacon of hope people look towards; proof that even after death you can grow and evolve into the best version of yourself and continue to strive for more. Caroline had never been one for things like _compassion towards others_ and _putting people first_ , but in an ironic twist of fate being turned into a vampire made her appreciate the living more than ever would have been possible.

They had spent the majority of the day back in Caroline's room looking through different outfits and she hadn't been exaggerating when she said she had a few planned out – three too many than the _one or two_ Bonnie had in mind. Bonnie had the final choice over which to wear and she chose a black laced dress that went halfway down her thighs and lace sleeves just past her elbows. The fabric underneath blended with the color of her skin making the dress look very provocative at first glance. The heels were black silky leather with straps across the bridge of her foot and around her ankle.

Bonnie showered and Caroline styled her hair in loose curls falling right above her shoulders. She fixed her eye make-up in a smokey effect and finished with a dark shade of purple lipstick. Stepping back Caroline appraised her work before nodding.

"Gorgeous."

Bonnie snorted and turned to the mirror – her own eyebrows rising at the girl in the mirror. Finally out of her constant 90's style of overalls, t-shirts, and sweatshirts around her waist she looked back at a person who looked somehow older – wiser – with an external confidence vibrating off them. She cocked her head to the side and had to take a moment for it to sink in she was looking at her own reflection.

"Right? You look awesome," she beamed and handed her the black jacket she was wearing earlier.

"In case you end up outside, or maybe not used to that 20 degree difference just yet."

Bonnie laughed and nodded in agreement, taking the jacket and something clicking in the back of her mind; wondering if the temperature change that Kai hadn't had to endure for almost twenty years was affecting his body physically.

"So where is Stefan's?" Bonnie asked, not realizing when she agreed that they couldn't _physically_ get to Stefan's actual home and that he's been living in a new temporary arrangement.

"It's close by; he just came back into town recently so he found the closest spot to Mystic Falls with the best view. Shouldn't be more than a ten minute drive, so let's get moving!"

Caroline bounced from one foot to the other, her energy brightening Bonnie's dark and cloudy mind that she was having trouble shaking. Bonnie had never been one for parties – even choosing not to attend ones that the rest of her friends have gone to, as she's always felt a level of self-consciousness or social anxiety in closed and forced conversation that you fall into in that setting. Caroline had assured her that it wouldn't be an overwhelming amount of people and that Bonnie would love it in the end – the wording she used sending a slight wave of panic threw her.

Bonnie had remembered when they were almost there that neither her nor Kai have a cell phone and she would have no way of telling him where to go – not that she gave him a final answer when he told her to invite him. A part of her hoped he didn't find a way to show up so he didn't make any waves with her friends and complicate things worse. The other more selfish part of her wondered if the pressing weight against her chest would be eased with him close by. She battled internally with herself the remainder of the car ride until the noise pulled her out of her daze.

"Caroline..." she breathed looking at the quantity of people standing outside the house.

"Don't kill me," she cringed through a defensive posture "I told one person ' _hey party for my best friend who's back in town!_ ' and word caught on fast and look everyone wanted to see you!"

"They wanted to go to a party, Care," she groaned scanning her eyes across the yard, her heart pounding before she could even step out of the car.

"It'll be fine, come on!" She said and was opening her door in the next moment, helping her out and watching everyone's eyes turn to her.

Bonnie walked through the sea of people having too many faces she's never seen before congratulate and praise her for _how strong she is_ and _how hard it must have been_ until she pulled Caroline to a halt.

"Why are people so amazed that I'm here; what did you tell them?"

"Nothing bad!" she said defensively "I may have said something about it being a miracle that you're back and I wasn't sure if I'd see you again and that might have been perceived that you were in rehab."

"Rehab?" she screeched "everyone here thinks I'm on edge and recovering from what I'm sure is a list of drugs by now?"

" _I'm sorry_ ," she cringed again "it just slipped and then I didn't know how to backtrack and pull you out of their spiral but they're just random college kids! They'll have new gossip by the end of next week and this will be long forgotten."

Bonnie shook her head aggravated at the extra anxiety this puts on her knowing the variety of thoughts that everyone is thinking when they look at her and she felt herself sway slightly by the sudden dizziness.

"Hey Bon-Bon," she heard in a sultry voice behind her and turned to Damon's smirk "got you a little welcome home gift."

He held up Miss Cuddles and Bonnie's face lit up reaching out to hug the piece of her childhood that she held near and dear that she sent away for her own safety.

"More like returning a gift but same difference."

Bonnie walked back a few steps to the closest wall and Damon blocked her off from the rest of the party, closing her eyes and chanting the opposing spell she used in the cave to return the magic back to her. Her system flooded with electricity that she's becoming a little too familiar with - that she hopelessly craves more of – and breathed out a sigh of relief feeling her body reignite from within and leaving her fingertips sizzling. Bonnie closed her eyes focusing before snapping her fingers and the song changing in response. She shrieked in delight that her Bennett magic was back and felt a little more back to herself; something she hasn't fully felt since she's been back. Bonnie had been there for a little over a half an hour and turned down three separate guys asking to dance but the forth would not leave her alone.

"Just one dance, sweet thing," he slurred and she shook her head at the ignorance of kids who can't handle their liquor.

" _No_ ," she pressed being past the point of politeness and felt him stepping towards her; instinctively walking back and feeling a sudden awareness of the room starting to close in around her.

"But you're the special guest of honor – you need to be showered with attention and I'm just the guy for the job," he reached for her waist and she pushed his hand away.

"You're not getting it – I'm not interested; find someone else."

"You're a little spitfire, aren't you?"

"Little?" she questioned, her hands tingling so much they started to feel numb as her feet followed. "Just leave me alone."

"I don't think I can do that, you're so hot," he practically salivated as his arms caged her into the wall; her heart racing so fast her chest was aching and vision blurring.

Bonnie tried to clear her thoughts to take control of the situation but she felt helpless; the air being sucked out of the air making her choke and feel an overwhelming detachment from her surroundings. She looked around frantically in the horde of unfamiliar faces for someone to notice but no one paid her any attention. He pressed his body flat against hers and she could smell the liquor on his breath coming out in pants on her face.

" _Relax, doll face._ " His hands dragged roughly across the lace to her bare skin and she reached out to shove him but his hands clamped around hers pushing her back into the wall. Her blood chilled every fiber in her body and she broke out in cold sweats, her breath coming out hard and with difficulty as the dizziness clouded around her until spots appeared. Feeling like she could faint on the spot she closed her eyes and focused on one thing; the guy yelping in response and backing away shaking his hands like they were on fire. "What the hell was that!"

"You said it yourself – _I'm hot_ ," Bonnie leaned off the wall and turned down the hallway walking away as quickly as she could.

Her vision got worse the harder she tried to concentrate, her fingers trailing against the wall until they curled around a doorknob, leaning against it and stumbling inside. She turned on the light and found herself alone in the bathroom, quickly swinging the door closed and locking it she slid down and curled into a ball hitting the floor.

-x—x—x-

Kai pulled up to a house littered with drunken college kids in what he assumed was Sheila's car since it looked like it lived out its glory days in the 70s, and parked in the closest spot. He hopped out and checked his appearance following Bonnie's example and buying a few new outfits and nodded in improvement at the current style. He chose a simple white t-shirt that buttoned halfway down and a heavy black button up worn loosely over. His way-too-tight jeans were rolled up at the bottom above his black boots and he even splurged on a couple of new rings to complete the overall effect. Walking past all the hooting and hollering he maneuvered his way through the crowded house, his eyes set out for a short brown-haired green eyed girl that's filled the boredom in his life lately. Elbowing people out of the way at one point from being stuck in grid traffic he made it into the kitchen and noticed a couple girls talking near the fridge.

"Ladies," he greeted smiling at everyone "have any of you seen Bonnie Bennett? About yay high, most likely attached to a bubbling blonde – this party is actually for her."

"I wouldn't waste your time," a guy's voice slurred from the other side of the kitchen.

"And why is that?"

"She looks great but won't let you get within a five foot radius."

"Maybe she doesn't want you there," Kai smiled, glancing back at the girls and nodding a goodbye before walking across the kitchen.

"With an outfit like that she's looking for _somebody's_ attention; she seemed willing but then she freaked out and took off – tease."

Kai could still feel the distinct undercurrent of fury simmering and refueling his drained mind and body; glancing around the kitchen littered with unaware eyewitnesses and landing on a knife behind him in the sink. Grabbing it and pushing the kid into the nearest corner shielding him from sight Kai held the pointed tip an inch away from his throat.

"Since I need information from you I'm not going to kill you this second – which is lucky for you because I'm feeling pretty impulsive. I'm going to ask you a couple questions, answer correctly and you might survive the night. Round one: did you put your hands on her?"

"No," he out terrified "well y-yes actually – wait!" Kai pressed the point to his Adam's apple and stared at him with no expression; really not caring if he answered incorrectly and it resulted in his death because he knew he'd find Bonnie in here somewhere and hear the story from her. "It was just her arms – I swear! She shoved me away and then it felt like her skin was on _fire_ and she took off."

"Where?"

The drunken kid's shaking hand lifted to the left "d-down that hallway."

Kai glanced in that direction then back at him, tilting his head mulling over his options and rolled his eyes choosing the more logical route; knocking him out with an elbow with ease even when he felt like shit. Putting the knife back on the counter he walked past the many faces gawking at him and went down the hallway opening all the doors before going back to the only one that's locked.

"Bonnie," he tapped lightly "open the door." He leaned his ear closer trying to listen over the constant drabble of noise that blended together and knocked louder. "Bon I'll kick the door in if you don't answer; 10 second warning."

Kai clucked his tongue ticking off the seconds and got to 8 before the door opened a crack, walking in swiftly and locking it behind him. Turning back to her he examined her leaning against the wall in a tastefully seductive dress and heels combo, continuing up past her crossed arms to her locks of curls shielding her face as she looked down. He took the step and a half to be in front of her and ran his fingers gently up the lacey material feeling her arm shaking.

"Rough night?"

Bonnie breathed in sharp and let out a sob, tightening her hold around her stomach looking like she was about to break in half. Kai took a moment of silence to be pissed for not stabbing the drunken idiot when he had the chance and debated if it would be better to give her space after a situation like that or try to comfort her. He thought of her friends who all ran into her arms without a second thought and pulled her gently off the wall wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Bonnie's hands slid under his loose button up t-shirt and continued until her hands clasped his back. Her lips pressed into the side of his neck and he tilted his head down towards her, unsure of what to do as the embrace caused Bonnie's tears to roll down uncontrollably.

"I don't know what happened," she sobbed "I was fine and then the world felt like it was ending and I thought I was going to pass out."

Kai's eyebrows drew in listening to her description. "Couldn't breathe?" he questioned and she nodded in response "chest pains, dizzy, sweating?"

"Mhm."

He sighed knowing vividly what those symptoms together felt like, "you were having a panic attack."

"What?" she uttered shakily into his neck.

"It's pretty common; you were probably freaked out being in a confined space with this many people. I guess your friends didn't take into consideration the fact that you've only been with two other people for almost a year – and that you don't like this stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Parties, big blowouts."

"How would you know?"

"I pay attention," Kai smirked but could still feel her body trembling against his. Leaning his head and shoulders back he put his hands around the side of her neck and lifted her head with his thumbs getting his first good look at Bonnie's made up face with tear stains trailing down. He looked over her and landed on her shiny plum lips listening to her breathing coming out harsh. "Try to calm your breathing, listen to mine."

"I-I can't," she huffed and her eyes drifted up like she was going to blackout.

"Hold your breath." He ordered and she inhaled deeply a few times but gasped out when she tried to hold it. " _Bon_."

The words came out sternly but her glazed eyes wouldn't focus; her grip starting to loosen on his shirt. Kai breathed out through his nose and thought of something that would either definitely work or seem self-obsessed. Licking his lips he hovered in front of her face to give her a clue of what he was doing before locking his lips on hers. Bonnie breathed in slowly but he didn't feel her exhale, smiling against her lips and reaching out to guess the distance to the wall before leaning over her to rest his palm flat.

Bonnie pressed into him closer and ran her fingernails up his back – still surprised at how much he liked that – and fought the urge to push her against the wall and grind into her. He continued to kiss her softly to ease her frenzied state of mind and she trailed her hands around his ribs up his chest taking control and yanking him down by the collar. Her tongue urged his mouth open and he deepened the kiss as she gasped out an exhale; growling in the back of his throat at her reaction and bringing his hand down from her neck to curl around her lower back pulling her flush against him. Running her hands up his neck and through his hair he felt her fingers sizzling with a familiar feeling. Her grip turned his head at a better angle to roll her tongue over his and he was suddenly acutely aware of how little she was wearing.

"I could destroy you in this dress," Kai rasped against her lips and she let out a surprised laugh at the remark, urging her into a roll of his hips at the sound and her breath caught as the lights dimmed low; his heart racing against its new slowed down rate. Kai could feel him towering over her at this angle, so much that she was bent backwards and clinging onto his hair to keep from falling... like she could really slip through his hold on her. He ran his hand soothingly across the lace and straightened himself so she didn't have to break her back. Before he got carried away he brushed his lips against hers and continued across her jaw nibbling down the side of her neck and she giggled and squirmed away, lifting his head and mimicking her cheerful expression. Pushing his hand off the wall he wrapped it around her upper back below her shoulder blades. "You look very sexy – before I forget to tell you."

Bonnie laughed through a rough exhale and gripped the front of his shirt. She looked up wide eyed as he focused on her breathing; jagged from adrenaline but steady. "How did you do that?"

"Oh just taking your breath away, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Why did you know what to do?"

"I used to get them," Kai shrugged and her fingers flexed against his collar "so I've picked up on a few things." Bonnie searched his eyes and he stared back trying to decipher what she could be thinking. Her hands drifted up and around his neck curling them as she leaned in to hug him. He took the moment to trail his hands down her back and squeeze her ass causing her to press into him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she sighed against the side of his neck and he smiled proudly.

"See? You just needed me," he boasted pleased with himself "If you'd invited me I would have made it here sooner."

"Yeah I got used to not having a phone or needing to make contact with anyone after a while, I'll probably need to buy a new one tomorrow. How did you know where to go?"

"Asked the first college kid I saw, so much for your ' _little get together_ '. I think there's more people here than at your school – pretty wild." Kai felt her body tense into him and let out a small noise, the first thought popping into his head making the most sense. "Let's just leave."

"No," Bonnie let out mystified.

"Why not?"

"I can't just _leave_ – they did all of this for me."

"Yeah and their grand welcome home gesture was admirable, but you don't want to be here."

"I just got here; they'll be upset and try to make me stay anyway so I have to tough it out for a little longer."

"Even though you don't want to be here or go out there and talk to anyone?" he asked genuinely curious, trying to figure out what her logic to that would be.

"Yes, because people suffer through things they don't want to deal with to benefit the ones they love and make them happy."

Kai stared at her with what he was sure was a perfect display of confusion in its natural form and tilted his head to the side eyeing her curiously. "But why?"

Bonnie stared back with what was looking like the same expression until her thought process clicked. "Oh right, I almost forgot – you don't have to deal with things like caring for people and feeling guilt and obligation to others... being a psychopath and all," she leaned back but his arms stayed firmly around her.

"Sociopath, if we're going to start using labels... _witch_ ," he said with a wink "they're actually significantly different."

"They both end with killing people and feeling no remorse for it."

"True."

"And don't feel anything past the superficial meaning of a word."

"Mm not so true, although with certain things I can see what you mean. But I feel things," Kai chuckled "I'm not a robot – I can show you a few things I'm feeling right now if I need to demonstrate."

"You're ridiculous," she said through a roll of her eyes and he heard someone knocking incessantly against the door.

" _Hurry up in there!_ "

Kai smirked and gazed back down to her in no rush to move. Her eyes moved back and forth from him to the door and he could see her starting to panic.

"You're really freaking out aren't you?" Bonnie glared at him with stubborn eyes and tried to roughly push him away, not sure how stating the obvious earned him an angry reaction. He let her push him back to give her space but still hovered close. "What do you want to do?"

Bonnie bit her lip and walked around him, glancing in the mirror and making a disgusted sound at the reflection. Wetting a tissue she dabbed at her face to wash away the tear streaks and fixed the lipstick Kai smudged. He wiped his own lips to erase any potential purple that could be there and walked up behind her resting his chin against her still trembling shoulder. He knew she didn't want to see anyone but felt compelled to stay making it extremely difficult to find middle ground.

"Come on," he murmured trailing his hand down her arm and interlocking their fingers, opening the door and smiling in amusement at the line that was starting to form for the bathroom.

Kai maneuvered past the angry townsfolk and walked into the closest bedroom shooing out the tipsy group of three and shut the door behind them. He faced Bonnie's fragile outer appearance and walked towards her.

-x—x—x-

Bonnie gripped her arms tighter feeling stupid now that the moment was over and she could think straight, still uneasy that her body reacted the way it did over something that's happened to her many times before. Her body felt like it was starting to shut down and filled her with such dread her throat closed, locking herself away not even helping the way she expected it to.

Kai brushed his fingers against her upper arms and her body once again relaxed under his touch; the recognition of it making her stomach churn painfully. She still felt a surreal level of comprehension trying to force herself to decode and unravel the mystery of what Kai was able to do to her feelings and emotions without any real conscious thought to fight against it. He looked over her face and posture seeming pretty disheveled himself and ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

"Listen, about that," she started "I just overreacted – lack of sleep and not being around people for a while must have just overdone it."

"You don't need to lie to me," he smiled and rested his forehead briefly against hers "I can see right through you anyway."

"Yeah right," she grumbled but had a sinking suspicion that he really could.

Bonnie closed her eyes hating herself and even him a little bit for being the only source of comfort she seems to have lately and her head pounded against the contradicting thoughts. Rubbing her temple with her fingers she felt Kai scoop her up behind her knees and sat on a big ottoman chair. Her legs curled over him and her back rested against the armrest, eyes level with his in the closed space.

"How about I read your mind? For every correct answer, I get a kiss," he grinned cheekily and she rolled her eyes.

"How original."

"It doesn't have to be on the lips, you can get as creative as you want."

"And what happens if you guess incorrectly?"

"I don't really see that happening, but you can pick that one."

"How about I get to ask you something?"

"Sounds good. Okay – here we go." Kai put his middle fingers against his temples and hummed in concentration; his over the top dramatization the spitting image of late night 90s psychic shows. She tilted her head waiting for him to finish and his blue eyes flashed into hers. "You don't want me to know what happened because you're afraid of what I'll do."

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek not able to deny that was a huge reason for why she was struggling to get the words out and shook her head, leaning in to kiss his cheek and noticing his eyes shining when she pulled back.

"You don't know how right you are about that, but no need to worry – at least not yet," he murmured and did his hand motion again "being stuck in this house freaked you out."

"That's pretty obvious, I don't know if you deserve a reward for it but," she shrugged and kissed his other cheek.

"I guess I'll just have to dig deeper," he looked into her eyes so intensely she could feel her cheeks flaming "some drunken idiot cornered you and scared you."

Bonnie turned her head slightly taken aback and looked across his features; logically thinking that he would be able to figure out a frat guy was bothering the girl this party is supposedly for. Without putting too much thought into it she kissed his jaw under the corner of his mouth and hovered, not liking where this game was headed.

"You're mad that your friends weren't there to help you." She felt her body wind up tight at the statement and clenched her teeth. It's not her friend's responsibility to hold her hand and keep her company like some toddler, and she had been with at least one of them more or less the whole time she was there but she couldn't deny she expected and was more than a little disappointed that no one was keeping an eye on her. Bonnie curled her legs closer into him and he wrapped his arm around her thigh, closing her eyes and brushing her lips against his jaw back to his ear. Kai hummed and turned his head towards her slightly, the small gesture being the only one he made. " _You wish I was there._ "

Bonnie let out her built up tension in a single exhale against his neck; truly not knowing if the statement was correct or not. Justifiably if Kai was there the passerby wouldn't have gotten the chance to hit on her let alone have her pressed up against a wall. There was a small chance she wouldn't have felt so panicked if she knew someone else in the room had also recently dealt with a trip down a dark path of isolation. Kai started humming the jeopardy music after a certain point and she let out an irritated sound, turning into his neck and biting down. His hand around her thigh flexed and his arms briefly pulled her in closer.

"I'll take that as a yes," she heard through a wide smile "okay fine, last physic thought: you hate how right I am about everything."

Bonnie pulled her head back from being tucked in the crook of his neck and stared at his genuine look of happiness as they were once again in solitude from the rest of the world. When it came to this question she could say with certainty he was spot on. Leaning in close she watched his smile fade and desire replace it, his eyes flashing with a simmering blaze that had her blood boiling and bringing her lips to his. Kai's arms tensed around her but didn't make any attempt to crush her into his chest or flip her legs so she was straddling him. Her chaotic state of mind over the emotions she's been through over the last hour blended with a heightened sense of appreciation for being pulled out of that nightmare. Bonnie felt like she was fighting against the urge to take control and tear his shirt off, throw her leg over his and have her way with him. Her graphic thoughts got carried away to the point that she was pressing her palms against his chest to physically put a wall between her thoughts and actions and pulled her lips off of his.

" _Hm_ you are so dangerous to my health, Bon. I feel like my heart is switching between a couple beats a minute vs. a couple hundred." She tried smiling at his playful banter and put her palm on his chest feeling his heartbeat hammering against it. Kai tracing his hand behind her thigh and up her bare skin gliding over the lace and rasped, "could give a guy a heart-attack in this dress."

"Yeah that's definitely what's causing this," she nodded and felt oddly better, almost forgetting that she was at a party with half of Whitmore college "what are you going to do – how do you plan on getting better?"

"Oh I plan on having a talk with my sister," he stated with confidence and finality like it was the grand solution.

"Ahuh, and then?"

"Merge with her and be healed by her magic," Kai said with a duh expression.

"Kill your twin to save yourself," Bonnie stated.

"Just doing what was done onto me."

"Isn't there any way you could – I don't know – not merge with Jo and get everyone off the warpath to kill you?"

"What would I do with my days if people weren't trying to kill me?"

"I'm _serious_ Kai."

"Really?" he asked with his head cocked to the side.

"Yes, you made it out of that prison take the victory and let the other twins merge so both you and Jo can survive."

"You should know it's not that simple," he said with a blank stare and sighed when it didn't come to her. "My dad will make it so _none of us_ survive to make sure the precious coven is safe under his power."

"But if you tell him you won't merge-"

"He wouldn't believe me – rightfully so – and it wouldn't make a difference to him. In his mind me having the possibility of taking the coven from him is enough to have him make some drastic decisions; and this is the _King of terrible choices_. If he can't bend the rules to keep himself as leader than he's looking for a loophole to merge the twins before their 22nd birthday, and that I know for a fact if I couldn't figure out then he won't."

"Why do you think we haven't seen him yet?"

"Well last time he went up against a Bennett witch he came back with his tail between his legs; I'm sure he's looking to avoid a repeat performance."

"I _am_ at full power again," she said with a self-assurance his words seemed to set off.

"I know I could feel it," he purred and his fingers sent goosebumps across her bare legs.

"If there's a way to make sure your dad won't kill you... would you consider not going through with it?"

"Bon there's no way to guarantee that, just like he knows there's no way to be sure I won't take his power."

"But-"

"We fuel each other's worst fears in the other – maybe it's always been that way. Since the day he found out I was different his mind has been overrun by one thought: Malachai can't lead this coven. He's tried breaking me down and locking me away to make sure it didn't happen; he won't stop now."

"And what about you?" she wondered "what's your biggest fear?"

"It's probably my only "fear" if I had one but he does bring it out in me," he laughed and shrugged blasé "self-preservation; I don't want to die. The only way to make sure that doesn't happen is to take the power away from him."

"That's really why you're doing all of this? Not as revenge against Jo, or going back to destroy the entire coven... you're trying to tell me it's not even about the _Almighty Coven Leader_ role?"

"Well that is a huge factor, at one point it was the only thing I thought about but I've had a lot of time to reflect in my decade and a half of solitude and realized there are larger pending issues behind the matter that need to be dealt with."

"And that's your father."

"Exactly."

"And Jo is just... what, collateral damage?"

"Pretty much, which I feel like I'd feel something stronger towards if she wasn't the one who tricked me and stuck me in that eternal 1994 day from Hell."

"What about the twins?"

"If they don't try to interfere they'll be fine."

"Or you'll kill them." Kai's blank stare of an answer had Bonnie untangling herself from his hold on her which was slightly easier due to his foggy state vs. her magic-fueled energy. She stumbled off the ottoman catching herself before she hit the ground and took a moment to readjust and gather her thoughts. "You can't just go around killing everyone Kai – I can't believe I have to explain this to you," she thought out loud and watched him slowly get out of the chair.

"I'm not killing everyone, jeez make me sound like a vampire or something," he said with an uncontainable cheeky grin "I'm making a list of possible eliminations to guarantee my safety."

"The way you can talk about this sometimes like you're explaining complex physics and logically sorting out your thoughts is really unsettling. This is your _family_ , Kai."

"This isn't a _family_ to him – it's a coven – and the good of the coven goes before anything; in this case its ensuring my downfall. I didn't live in the same world as you Bonnie; you grew up with people like your Gram's, and I had my dad. There were no family vacations or group outings; my dad was such a paranoid weirdo we didn't even go out to eat the times that we were together. The coven doesn't know it yet but they will be better off when they aren't being brainwashed."

Bonnie listened to everything he was saying that always seemed to sound infuriatingly correct and makes sense in a way that your opinion almost wanted to sway over to his. She had to force herself to replay all of the reasons why it's wrong to go through with the merge and looked back at him watching her patiently. It really did make her feel a little crazy that she could feel the overwhelming urge to attack Kai in the most brutal and obscene ways – sometimes simultaneously, and it tended to sneak up on her at the worst times. Backing away she checked the distance to the door hearing the sea of people behind it and wondered how long she'd been gone for or if anyone was looking for her. Looking back at him he rocked on the heels of his feet with his hands in his pockets and she almost felt queasy at how unsuspecting Kai's external-self looks compared to the dark mind lurking within.

"We should probably head back out we've been gone for a while," she noted glancing back at the door and turned back to Kai in front of her waiting for her to lead the way.

"Sure you're up for it?"

"I think so, we'll see," she said with honesty and looked into his eyes "um, I just wanted to – thank... you... for earlier. That really – you didn't have to help me but you did and I appreciate it."

"My pleasure," Kai smiled and leaned in but Bonnie's waging thoughts in pandemonium had her reaching for the knob before he could clasp her neck.

Taking a deep breath to keep the nerves at bay she opened the door and was greeted by a blaring sound of music and chatter. Narrowly avoiding hip-bumps and hair flips she made it to the living room and stopped short spotting the guy from earlier hovering in the entrance between the room and the kitchen. Momentarily stuck to the floorboards she watched him talk to a girl as he scanned the room and stopped when he landed on her. Bonnie let in a sharp breath and watched as his face turned horror-struck and mumbled to a stop during whatever he was saying. She squinted to see clearer through the crowded room and was almost certain he was sporting a freshly new black eye and regarded he wasn't actually looking at her but directly above her.

"Want me to kill him?" Kai murmured lowly against her ear.

"No!" she let out bewildered and turned to face his mischievous grin "you mean you knew the whole time?"

"I did, which was unfortunate for him but better for me since I knew what I was walking into."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I was waiting for you to say something, and then I saw an opportunity to make a game out of it so I went with that instead."

"And cheated your way to victory," she said playing back their recent conversations with the added knowledge that Kai was already aware of why she was upset.

"I'm no cheater," he said dramatically taking a step back before his shocked expression turned cunning "but I have been called a con man once or twice."

"That I believe," she breathed letting out a laugh and looked over her shoulder back in the guy's direction "so what did you do?"

"What do you mean?" he pondered flashing his smile.

"I _mean_ what did you do – how did you know it was him, what did he say, did you punch him?"

Bonnie knew her questions came out rapid fire but she had to get them out while they were coming to mind and watched Kai's face turn to sheer amusement.

"I was looking for you and I found him, a twist of fate really. He filled me in that he put his hands on your arms which I'm guessing was around the same distance that I usually stand, and that you burned him with your bad-ass Bennett magic and took off." Bonnie's nose crinkled almost smelling the vodka on his breath an inch away from her face as his rough hands grasped her arms and held her against the wall. "I don't know if he tried more... I mean there was a sharp object aimed at his throat for all the motivation in his life to be truthful but maybe that wasn't enough."

"There was – you did what?" she exasperated an octave higher "you pulled a knife out on someone in a house packed full with people?"

"It was the closest thing to me," Kai shrugged and his smile faded slightly "so did he try anything else?"

Her mind played back the moment but the actions itself were a drizzle over the hurricane of feelings it brought with it; her short breaths accommodating her rapid heartbeat as she recalls the feeling of dread and confinement like the room was closing in on her. She tried clearing her throat to shake the cloud that was hovering over her but the flashes of anxiety have her becoming hyperaware of the close proximity to everyone around her. Bonnie felt his fingers gliding gently down the lace sleeve pulling her out of her daydream – or possibly trying to do a comforting gesture – and his eyes met hers looking slightly on edge.

"You know I think I should go see how he's doing."

"Yeah that's not gonna happen," she said blocking his path "he didn't try anything else it's just the feelings that came with it that has me a little freaked."

"Hint – that's anxiety," he winked "easy way to get past it: distract yourself."

Kai grabbed her hand and pushed her away, spinning her back into his chest and turned her head to be eye level with his smirk.

"I'm not dancing with you!"

"Why not? I'm an excellent dancer."

"Oh because you've had so many people tell you this over the years?"

"No, I don't need anyone to tell me what I already know." Kai checked behind her and spun her out again walking beside her as she twirled, stopping abruptly and dipping her low causing a surprised shriek to spill out. He laughed and swayed her upper body from left to right before pulling her up. "But who knows how I am with a partner."

"Well that wasn't terrible, to start," Bonnie added and couldn't hide her smile "but I bet I could still outshine you."

"We'll have to see about that," he murmured close and someone behind her bumped into her causing both her and Kai to stumble back a few steps.

Kai held her close so she could catch her balance and she let out a frustrated sound. "There are _so_ many people here."

"That there is."

"How are you not freaking out? No really, how did you not drive up see all the people spilling out of the front door and have a heart attack right there?" Kai's shrugged response had her letting out an even more aggravated sound. "You've had roughly seventeen extra years in that prison world so what is your secret; how does being around this many people not bother you?"

"I don't know," he looked off like he was really taking a moment to think about it "there's only a handful of people I have my sights set on, I don't pay much attention to anyone else."

Bonnie tilted her head slightly at the simplicity of his logic that undoubtedly made sense to her, but one that she could not see herself personally being able to do. The train of thought triggering how self-conscious she felt tonight she looked past him to all of the slightly hazy features and brought her eye line back to their chests and the lack of distance between them. Bonnie put her palm on his chest backing up and found herself for the second time pressed up against a wall with a guy caging her in. The only difference in their tactics was Kai still had one hand by his side so she could escape if need be; but the distinction of how monumentally conflicting the emotions that took over her in the same scenario – one whom she knows for a fact has killed people – had her thudding her head off the wall and staring at the ceiling.

"I don't worry about what people think, or what they do, or how it affects them. I put myself first because in the end everyone is in it for themselves. I told you before I wanted to be more like you and it's true, but it wouldn't be the worst thing if you were a little more like me too."

"You are so wrong about that-"

"Hear me out," he cut her off "not on the whole ' _hey let's have shitty relationships with everyone and retaliate_ ' aspect _but_ I don't waste my time with people who don't deserve it. I don't fix people's problems that they caused and you certainly won't find me risking my life for another anytime soon. It might sound selfish to you since you're wired to think and react in a certain _What Would Jesus Do_ way but choosing you and fighting for yourself can be just as noble."

"Listen," she started, ready to defend herself.

"I can already see the steam coming out of your ears," he snickered "I know – I don't know you and your friends in that _Saved by the Bell_ deep spiritual way, but I have heard bits and pieces of stories and seen what you've done for me. Believe me Bon I know you better than you like to believe and from one exiled prisoner to another; choose yourself."

Bonnie knew her pose read defensive as she tried to think of something to say when Kai turned into a blur in front of her and slammed into the wall on her left with a grunt.

"I don't remember anyone inviting the most dysfunctional killer in town," Damon chimed a few inches from his face with his hands fisted around Kai's collar.

"And yet here you are," Kai smiled and let out a wheeze as Damon's grip tightened.

Elena and Bonnie got in between them and held their ground.

"Damon what is the matter with you?" Elena hissed.

"Oh I don't know, maybe this prepubescent kid coming to town bringing his family of delusions and hysteria is throwing me off. Not to mention he just had Bonnie trapped like he was stalking his next victim."

"Wow, you don't know the irony of that statement. But you must be off your game because I haven't seen you come to check in on how Bonster's been doing since I've been here. In fact if you had showed up ten minutes before me-"

A stone-cold glare from Bonnie cut off Kai mid-sentence and he tilted his head squinting. Internally smacking him upside the head she turned back to Elena and Damon watching them.

"Well don't stop now; you were finally saying something I wanted to hear."

Bonnie looked back and forth between them knowing Kai had said too much to avoid it completely and gave them the short version.

"It was just some guy that was bothering me but I handled it," she said in her usual _brush off the shoulder_ tone.

"Who was it?" Elena asked stepping closer.

"A drunken college kid?" Bonnie laughed "I don't know _anyone_ here."

"Well what was he doing?"

"Nothing, honestly – just bothering me and wouldn't take a hint."

"Oh hey, I know a couple people like that," Kai laughed and eased off the wall, Bonnie close enough to notice his shallow breathing and precise movements.

"I say we just kill him and all this freaky merge business will be over," Damon said with a swipe of his hands.

"Damon-" Elena started.

"But what if I've become so used to dying that my body has become in-tune with it and I am un-killable like Wolverine, or Ra's al Ghul!"

"Or a vampire..." Damon added but Kai continued over him.

"And when someone tries to kill them they just get pissed off and retaliate which I'm sure none of us want to deal with."

"You're just a man-child with anger issues; you're not so tough."

Bonnie looked at Kai's expression for any signs of anger but his face lit up and started chuckling.

"Have you ever heard that saying about a black kettle and a pot? Because," he nodded his head knowingly and leaned back as Damon was suddenly in front of him.

"Why are you still here? Why are you not in Portland talking your father's ear off or stalking your little siblings that survived the massacre?"

"Well Bonnie's here, for one," he smirked "and it's the funniest thing – my sneaky little sister seems to be doing an excellent job at keeping them hidden. I'll give her credit for it because those kids were terrible at hide and seek. Granted I don't have any magic at the moment to try a locater spell and my current physical status is well, not at its best – so I'm at a bit of a stand still. Plus I have an inkling my father will be coming here soon enough."

"Oh great, let's get the whole coven down here for Christmas dinner, maybe throw a Gemini parade."

"Damon, please," Elena tried again but he glanced skeptically at Bonnie before leering into him.

"As soon as we figure out a way you are out our lives; no more manipulative Stockholm syndrome side effects."

"She wasn't my hostage," he retorted.

"She was with you against her will."

Kai's eyes flashed and Bonnie bit down on her tongue hoping with every ounce of her that he was doing the same. "That's _debatable_."

"I can't wait to be the one to kill you," he breathed "that is if your dear old dad doesn't beat me to it."

"Oh he'll definitely be the first to try, but you can give it a shot after if it'll make you feel better."

Damon and Kai both stared each other down as if they were the only people in the room and the others banter fueled their own. Bonnie had seen firsthand the side effects of two stubborn egomaniacs whom both happen to think they are the _King of Comebacks_ with the narcissism to boot. It was a little odd the specific traits that they both shared because on paper it would seem that they'd get a kick out of the others company but when it came to these men they had butted heads since day one. Damon locked eyes with her and she kept contact but refused to show any expression.

"You just can't _stand_ that she's not on your side on this, huh? Can't _goo-goo_ your eyes and make her stop talking to me."

"Give it time, I'm sure you'll do something to show her who you really are and ruin it all on your own; like murder a friend or leave her for dead."

"Is this multiple choice cause I know which one I'd choose, how about you? Multiple choice question Elena vs. Bonnie - both companions and people you might really care about, who's making that long drop off the cliff? _Miss vampire hearts and moonlight_ or _the powerful Bennett witch_ you're trying to protect from me?"

"I would save them both and toss you over instead," he said slyly through a squinted stare.

"Mhm, right, and if it's at gunpoint same thing? How about a secret option 3 of killing yourself to save them both; that could make things interesting. Although in the end I still know what your real answer would be. Because really Damon, let's be honest – Has Bon ever been your first choice?"

Bonnie tried not to let anything that they're saying affect her but Kai had a way of drawing you in and keeping you engaged on his topic of choice; this one happening to be about her. She watched Kai's face and posture stay composed over Damon's rising anger.

"You don't know a thing about Bonnie and I's friendship or what we've been through together. You've known her a few months I've known her for years."

"Mm but how long have you been _friends_ though? I mean I'm still a little iffy on if you'd call yourselves that now."

"We have an unconventional kind of friendship but believe me it's there – Bon Bon would choose me over you any day."

Bonnie looked between the two and watched the same light behind Kai's eyes shine with mischief, his smile spreading wider with what she dreaded was a variety of specific moments. Her vision clouded over the sexual tension and drifted through the intimacy; the open conversations and unguarded questions, the gentle touches and mesmerizing stares that looked straight through her. Deep down she believed that Kai knew what he was doing to her and was doing so intentionally to make her lose her mind and be corrupted like him.

"Is that so?"

"I think it's a fair bet to say if you died – and actually stayed dead – Bonnie wouldn't lose any sleep."

Kai pursed his lips and arched his eyebrow, tilting his head in what looked like pondering and glanced over at Bonnie, winking. The one gesture sent a flare through her veins as images flashed of just how grateful she was in the cave the night that she thought he could have actually perished.

"Beg to differ."

"Well I guess we'll see," Damon goaded and Kai's head snapped back to him, his expression taking on an edge and _tsk_ 'd.

"That tempers going to get you in trouble Damon; I wouldn't want to have to be the one to set you straight."

Damon's eyes flashed with a blend of fury and ambition, a look she's become all too familiar with and she and Elena exchanged the same expression. Elena made the first move and wrapped her arms around Damon's tugging him gently backward. Damon and Kai continued their stare down until Elena maneuvered in a distraction kiss that worked fluently, saying their short goodbyes before they weaved back into the crowd.

Bonnie turned to Kai ready to have a word battle of their own when she stopped herself, looking over his worn demeanor and lazy smile. When necessary Kai was able to stand tall and push through whatever obstacle he faced but Bonnie had an inside look into who he is when he drops the façade and gives her the distinct impression he's letting her in to know the real him. She used to be afraid of the horrors she would find if given the opportunity to delve into his cryptic and arcane mind but now what was most appalling was the bond it formed to their already undeniable connection. With one last look around the room her eyes fell back on his and in that moment she just wanted to sleep.

"Wanna get out of here?"

Kai's smile flashed bright momentarily bringing color and life back to his face.

"Why I thought you'd never ask," Kai said in a pure gentleman's manner.

Bending his arm out at his side she looped hers through and with one last glance for any sign of Caroline or Elena headed for the main door, stopping at the closet to get her jacket ready to put as much distance between her and the party as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

Kai had managed to make it almost all the way out of the party without causing serious harm to anyone – _almost._ Apparently fate had other things in mind as he fumbled through the keys to unlock the door and happened to look over the same time Bonnie's boozy admirer staggered to the side of the house. Looking back at the keys he found the correct one and unlocked both doors, sticking the key in the ignition and hopping back out.

"I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" she asked turning to get back out of the car.

"I need to use the facilities," he tossed over his shoulder as he casually made his way towards the left of the house.

The lights on the side of the house were off; in other words there was no one else loitering around the area as Kai looked into a dark abyss. He shook his head at the sheer cluelessness of civilization and closed in on his prey, the only warning of his oncoming attack being the splash of his boot in a puddle. Before the kid could let out a yelp Kai had him up against the house with his forearm cutting off his windpipe.

"To be fair," he smiled "I did warn you that you might not survive the night."

"Bro-"

Kai threw him to the ground and eyed him as he attempted to crawl towards the light. He booted his hip and he fell to the side splashing the puddle with his hand. Kai pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows as an idea sprung to mind and crouched down, grabbing the frightened kid by the hair and pressing his face into the puddle. The water was shallow but enough for his nose and mouth to be fully submerged and his slow and sluggish movements made the whole thing almost too easy. Within twenty seconds any sign of struggle had passed and Kai lifted his hand off his head, patting his shoulder twice before standing and running his hand down his shirt to smooth it before heading back out front.

"Okay time to put this shin-dig behind us," Kai joked putting on his seatbelt and pulled out of the parking spot.

It had only taken ten minutes to get from Stefan's back to Sheila Bennett's house when he knew where he was going, taking into account that she didn't say anything the entire way back. What was even more shocking was the lack of their typical butting heads over small topics like letting him back into the house. He didn't say anything certain it would trigger the opposite effect and made his way to the kitchen to see what there was to eat.

"Oh just make yourself at home," Bonnie grumbled as he pulled things out of the fridge and cabinets.

"Thanks," he beamed and took out six pieces of bread "are you ready for the best grilled cheeses you've ever eaten?"

"That's a big statement; I've had many delicious grilled cheeses in my life."

"Ah but I'm sure none have been quite like this," he winked and proceeded to flatten a piece before buttering it and throwing it on the pan.

He put a piece of cheese over it and continued to flatten and butter the next one. Bonnie eyed him curiously as he started to roll the single piece of bread up like a burrito.

" _Huh,_ " she let out surprised and he nodded in delight.

Kai rolled the rest of them up and placed them all on a plate, grabbing the chips he left on the counter and putting it all at the small table to his right. He checked the fridge for drinks and got them both a water bottle.

"Try it," he chirped practically bouncing in place.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and sat at the table picking one up before biting into half of it, moaning in delight over the crispy crunch coated in melted cheese. She closed her eyes chewing and Kai looked her over smirking as she tried to contain her reaction. Eating the other half in the next bite she opened her eyes as a smile spread slowly.

"Like it?" he could feel his smile mimicking hers.

"Okay I'll give it to you – that definitely made the list."

"As number one, you better believe it," he said swiping one of the pieces and sitting across from her "living in a house full of kids who like to eat the same things, but get bored of eating the same things is a tricky situation to balance. Ergo – I've learned to get pretty creative."

Bonnie's smile shifted and her eyes warmed as she stared into his, staying quiet as she nibbled on another piece and he leaned forward closing their distance. He tilted his head trying to guess her internal monolog he assumed was happening and figured it fell somewhere between Sunday breakfasts and making meals together as a family; neither were correct. He took the moment of silence and dropped his head low considering his options of what needed to be done within the next five days, many of which hinder on his physical and mental strength – not to mention his health. Inhaling deeply he lifted his head back up to Bonnie's troubled expression and raised his brows in response. Wiping her hands clean of crumbs she hopped off the chair and stood beside him placing the back of her hand on his forehead and shivered at the contact.

"You're freezing," she frowned.

"Beats burning up," he murmured as her skin felt like fire against his.

Sliding her hand down the side of his face she wrapped them both around his neck as his rested against her hips.

"There must be something in the Grimoire's that can stop whatever is happening to you. At the very least a quick fix to warm you up-"

Bonnie's concerned look turned into a scowl as he felt his smile widen and turned to cage her between his thighs bringing her nose to his.

"I have something in mind, but I need your help."

"Not. Happening." she annunciated putting her hand on his chest and watched her lips purse as her eyes trailed down.

Kai knew his breathing was shallow and felt his chest rise trying to take in more air under her scrutiny. The exhale through his nose sounded amplified in their usual comfortable silence and he trailed his fingers down Bonnie's arm clasping hers and wrapped her arm behind her back pulling her in to close the distance.

"Kai," she huffed trying to wiggle herself free.

"Is it just because I'm sick?" he said with deep interest and gave her at least ten seconds before continuing "the chemistry is there, the _passion,_ and I'm pretty sure it's not because you don't find me attractive-"

"It's not just because you're sick," she cut him off and sighed when he waited patiently for her to continue "It's the same reasons I've been telling you, my friends-"

"Are already growing fond of me," he said cheerfully and was rewarded with an unconvinced expression "and it's only been a day."

"And what you plan on doing as soon as you _aren't_ sick anymore," she said with a shake of her head and looked away leaning back.

Kai's eye-line stayed on her profile and kept his hold behind her back but chose not to respond, knowing he would just be repeating himself. After a moment her gaze shifted back to his and for give or take the tenth time tonight he took into account how different her eyes looked with make-up. He has always had the fortunate luck of looking into a pair of vibrant emerald eyes filled with light that he was certain could shine under certain pretenses. What he wasn't aware he was missing out on was that the dark eye make-up actually made them illuminate and highlight little details he hadn't noticed before; such as the chestnut brown rims around her irises, along with the spattered flecks and rays shooting off of them.

"Don't see what that has to do with us," he hummed gaze trailing down to her dark lips.

"Yeah it's more of my own personal morals of not pursuing someone who's trying to take out members of his family."

"What about when all of that's over?" he wondered and watched her manner darken "when whatever inevitable fate has come and passed and I'm left standing on the other side."

"You're pretty confident you'll be the one making it out of this."

"I'm stronger," he winked and she all but laughed in his face.

"You aren't seeing what I'm seeing."

"It's a minor hiccup; it'll be taken care of before the week is over."

"You could be wrong," she pressed "you could be going through all of these unnecessary problems risking your freedom and end up being the one that doesn't survive. You might have been better than the Jo you knew twenty years ago but you have no idea what she could be capable of now - what they all could be. You're in a different world now Kai and… there's a real chance you could die."

His brows drew in at the concept he could not possibly wrap his mind around and briefly played through the repercussions if he didn't go through with his plan; all resulting in his death by an array of options from the coven.

"They'll kill me if I don't," he shrugged.

" _You don't know that_ -"

"I _do_ ," he persisted and felt his heart fighting to beat faster "Bonnie I know you want to believe the best in everybody and that when it comes down to it they will make the right choice, but that's just not always the case. The man that raised me – the leader of my coven – is the exception, and I _do know_ that when given the option of sparing me or trying to get rid of me he will make the same decision every time."

Kai could see the fire burning behind her eyes as she bit her bottom lip struggling to argue against his point – which was valid. He understood where Bonnie was coming from, not wanting him to cause his usual acts of violence and find a way around it but her fantasy of how things could turn out was a far stretch from the reality of his impending doom. Up until this point his every thought was focused on escaping his prison and being free, to finally be one with the living again. Now that he successfully fought his way back the next form of action was securing his safety and to do that there were certain acts that had to be followed through with.

Bonnie tried pulling her arms free from his hold and he let her, watching her back away and cross her arms.

"I'm going to change out of this, you can take a shower if you want – might help warm you up."

"Thanks," he murmured as she backed away a few steps "but I'll be asking you again what your views on us post-merge are, I want an answer next time."

Bonnie scoffed and turned on her heel, heading out the open entryway and down the hall. Quickly washing the plate he headed for the stairs and made his way to the attic where he left his backpack full of confiscated new clothes. He pulled out a fresh pair of black boxers to match his sweatpants and looked through a couple of bags of old clothes coming across a big grey zip-up hoodie. Trotting back down the steps he checked the few open rooms for Bonnie before making his way to the bathroom and turned the water up as hot as it would go.

Stripping out of his outfit he stepped into the shower and let out a hiss through his teeth as the water scalded his back and felt icy needles blanket his skin. Closing his eyes and spinning to get slowly used to the heat it felt as is his body was trying to thaw after being lost on a mountain for three days. His teeth chattered and head pounded over the roaring sound of the water hitting him, his temper increasing as a chill went down his spine.

Slamming his palm off the tiles he turned the shower dial and yanked the shower curtain away. He tried steadying his breathing as he got dressed and headed for the living room finding Bonnie in fuzzy shorts and a t-shirt cocooned underneath a blanket. She didn't make eye contact as she sipped from her mug and he plopped down on the couch beside her, smiling at her freshly cleaned face.

"I made us hot cocoa," she said into the mug glancing at the table in front of them.

"Thanks," Kai eyed the mug in front of his knee and reached for it "even marshmallows? Nice."

"You can't have cocoa without marshmallows," she said in a serious tone with a shake of her head "it's like having spaghetti with no sauce; sure you can eat it but you know it's missing something."

Kai laughed in agreement enjoying Bonnie's humor when it was just them and moaned in delight as the warmth burned his throat and heat spread throughout his chest and stomach. He breathed out through his mouth and rested his head back, reaching over blindly for her leg wrapping his hand around her ankle and rubbed his thumb in circles.

"So why was your friend lurking outside instead of coming in? Afraid she could sense my presence?"

"No," she smiled "she actually can't come in – which is strange seeing how she spent almost as much time here as I did when we were kids. Vampires need to be invited in by the owner of the house but my Gram's passed away right before Care was turned."

"Really," he thought of loud "so this is basically a house-sized panic room against vamps, or should I say the majority of the people you associate with."

"Pretty much," she hummed looking around the room "my own little form of isolation, guess some habits are hard to break."

"Mm we all have 'em" Kai nodded in response, taking another sip feeling the second wave of warmth coat his stomach.

"So what did you do today?".

"Made my first adaptation into the real world and got some new clothes, everything's so tight," he said with a grimace "I see the debate of _style_ over _comfort_ has sadly won over this generation. Fortunately lounge wear or ' _active wear_ ' depending which store you find yourself in is still popular and if I do say so myself are even more comfortable; I always hated that most sweats were tight around the ankles."

Kai noticed he was rambling and opened his eyes halfway rolling his head towards her, feeling the side of his mouth turn up seeing her focused on what he was saying.

"And then I went to the hospital, walked around looking for Josette for a couple hours and had to convince a handful of doctors I wasn't a lost patient or someone who escaped the Psych wing. I mean, come on – do I look crazy? _Quacks,_ " he scoffed "after that I found myself surrounded by college kids ranting about some epic party; imagine my surprise when I realized they were talking about yours."

Bonnie un-wrapped her legs from under her to kick his thigh and he chuckled holding on and yanking her closer. His smile widened when she made herself more comfortable with her back on the cushions and bent her knees over him placing her mug on the table before throwing the blanket over them. Trailing his fingers across her skin he noticed his body was starting to relax from its frigged position and finished the rest of his cocoa before he forgot he was holding it and put it back in front of him.

"It was strange not seeing you for most of the day," he laughed "I guess I've gotten used to you being around; a change from the pleasant little bout of solitary I was stuck in."

Kai glanced over at Bonnie while he was talking and even though her eyes were closed and facing the ceiling her small smile brightening for a moment didn't surpass him. Being a very methodical man Kai knew the actions he had to enact and plans that must be followed – one scenario involving a one way ticket back to Portland, but if there was any way to avoid going back to his childhood home and migrate the coven over this way he was going to make it happen. He had an inkling that half of the coven had already trickled their way to the East Coast because this is where the sacred potential leaders decided to set down their temporary roots; needing protection against the big bad wolf coming to torch their comfortable foundation to the ground.

"What about you?" he wondered and she tilted her head in response "are you just having the _best time_ with your BFFs?"

Bonnie snorted out a laugh shaking her head and looked down her nose at him through barely opened lids.

"You really need to catch up to this decade. But yeah, It's so surreal being surrounded by everyone again and doing little things like going out shopping or sitting in the dorm that makes me feel like I haven't missed a day." She turned her head and stared off before continuing "It's just when I talk to them sometimes, I feel… I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"Try," Kai urged, curious to see what she meant.

Bonnie bit her lip sorting through her thoughts as he slid his hand up and down her smooth skin watching her.

"I think I'm seeing things differently, at least certain things and I'm not as eye-to-eye with everyone as easily as I used to be. Lines have blurred and things aren't just _black and white_ or _good and bad_ circumstances anymore, but for the rest of them it still is. I want to make my own decisions and be able to accept the consequences because I chose that path to go down."

"How did you usually make your decisions?"

"Well they generally revolved around saving somebody I loves life so there was never a choice for me to make – I did what I had to do. And I'm not naïve enough to think the bad times are over and my magical assistance won't be needed to save the day, but there are other facets of my life that I'd like to have my own opinion be the deciding factor."

"Well I can tell you without a doubt listening to yourself and following your own path are both extremely freeing – not to mention addicting. You'll want to make bigger decisions and break free from everything that was pulling you under before you showed up on my side of town. It's empowering stuff; you just have to be ready for it."

Bonnie looked back at Kai with an expression he couldn't quite place; falling somewhere between discovery and fear of the unknown of what's to come - but in actuality is the inevitable. Pinpointing what topic she could be referring to, only one evened up with everything she was describing.

"Were your friends ranting and raving over me, asking about what trouble we got ourselves into? Couldn't keep their eyes off of me so I'll bet they had a few things to say too."

"You are so full of yourself its cringe worthy," she said in a serious tone.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," he brushed off "I'm _confident_ , not quite the same as Damon's _arrogance_ but the two do sometimes get mistaken for the other. So, what did they say?"

"They said you're dangerous," she let out closing her eyes "Mr. Big and Evil coming to destroy the town and cause havoc, and I know they aren't wrong."

"I haven't even done anything yet," he said with an edge of a defensive tone.

" _Yet,_ " she reiterated "and that's exactly what I mean Kai, everyone's just anxiously awaiting for you to fly off the handle and start attacking people so they can retaliate and _kill you –_ as in can't magically be resurrected like any average day in eternal 1994. I'm telling you that my friends will put an end to your shiny new second chance life that you've been given if you try to go through with this-"

"And I'm telling you my father will beat them to it if I don't," he finished for her.

"Then what was the point?" Bonnie mumbled after a minute or two of silence.

"What do you mean?" he asked looking over her blank expression and tapped his fingers rhythmically on her knee.

Kai stared her down waiting for her to respond and let his mind wander to the possibilities that she could be playing through, his blood pressure rising higher after each guess.

"What was the point… of me fighting my way back?" he threw out and moved one of her legs behind his back, pushing the blanket away and turning on his knees to hover over her as Bonnie's eyes shot open putting her hands on his chest.

"Cut it out," she warned.

"Going through all that trouble against my father? Getting invested in me – liking me?" he knew he was asking too quickly for her to answer but wanted her to hear them all as he ran his hand from her ankle up around her thigh, his voice dropping low simmering with indignation " _in bringing me back_?

Bonnie made it a point to glare her response and Kai clenched down hearing whispers of her voice telling him _I couldn't leave without you, I'm afraid of how I feel about you,_ and _I need you_ ringing in his ears. Putting his left palm next to her head he slowly leaned in and heard her breath hitch. He looked over every inch of her face, concentrating on telepathically absorbing some of the thoughts flying around that overworked brain of hers as she stared back. Ticking off the seconds that turned into a full minute he tried keeping himself calm over a subject that was causing his heart to beat faster.

"Do you regret bringing me back?"

Bonnie's fingers curled around his sweatshirt as her eyes darted back and forth looking slightly alarmed. Her fingers continued to tighten around the fabric the longer she stayed in her head and he ghosted his right hand up her side to cup her neck, pulling her focus in with it.

" _Talk to me."_

"I don't know how to answer that," she confessed and avoided his gaze staring at her hands on his chest.

"It's pretty simple," he said in a monotone.

" _No it's not_ ," she huffed "because on the one hand I didn't want to leave you there to fend for yourself against your dad to either kill you or continue to keep you trapped, and we have gotten more… cordial, over the months so that factors into it too. But if what you're saying is true than you're basically looking down the barrel of a loaded gun from both angles without much chance of survival. I risked a lot choosing to let you run rampant in the world again; the repercussions because of it haven't even started coming yet but it sounds like your fate's already been sealed."

"And what would that be?" he asked quietly.

Kai ducked his head to read her expression better and she glanced up at him, her eyes reflecting distress and torment – a look he's become well aware of from seeing it in the mirror. Bonnie's fingers flexed restlessly against him and her limbs followed; her body reacting to what her mind is putting it through. Trying to sooth her anxious movements he ran his hand from her neck back down her side until he felt skin and bent her knee against his hip. Tracing small designs he looked over her apprehensive manner and slid his hand farther down the couch bringing his chest almost completely on top of hers.

"You can tell me things, you know," he smiled out of one corner "I promise I won't tell all your friends."

His wink caused her to roll her eyes and smile, a fraction of the tension leaving her as she looked back at him with a degree of sadness under the surface. Kai had gotten used to Bonnie's vague answers or being able to figure them out on his own but it was times like these where he knew she _wanted_ to say something and couldn't get it out that made him feel a little crazy. Struggling to say what you feel and worried about what the other would think and say were concepts that Kai never had to deal with or feel the anxiety of – his first instinct to say what's on his mind with no regard to anyone else always seemed to work out for the best.

"No matter which way you choose… the outcome's going to be the same," she whispered and he cocked his head to the side, letting it sink in before it clicked.

"You think I'm going to die?" he questioned and his confused look quickly morphed into gratitude when her hands reflexively gripped tighter.

Bonnie's distraught and frustrated appearance over the topic only fueled Kai's energy and felt his blood starting to warm him from the inside, looping his fingers through her right hand and pulling it over her head.

"I'm not dying Bon, trust me – I've got too much to live for."

Bonnie's eyes burned into his at the statement and he could feel the tension radiating off of her against what he assumed was a debate over pushing him away vs. going with what she really wants.

"You look like you're about to croak any minute."

"I look worse than I feel."

"And you're uncommonly cold," she pointed out feeling her way up his chest and around his neck in a small attempt to bring him some warmth.

"I'm gonna need you to rub more than that," he murmured and leaned in close to her face laughing before she could hit him.

With his still in the crook of her neck he slid his arm behind her and moved backwards scooping her off the couch in the same motion. He sat back so his feet were on the floor and Bonnie sat comfortably on his lap, grabbing the blanket near his leg and wrapping it around her shoulders to pull her down closer.

"I'm feeling warmer already," he lied and she called him out on it when her fingers left a burning path across his cheek.

"Bullshit," she stated and he grabbed her hips rolling over his growing hard on.

"I'm getting there," he responded mischievously and he could have sworn he saw a hint of desire behind her fiery stare before her eye-line shifted to her hands on his shoulders keeping her steady.

Bonnie dropped her forehead to his and closed her eyes, seemingly lost in space even though he had her anchored to him. Licking his lips he trailed his fingers up her legs and around her thighs as his fingers danced under the material of her short pajama bottoms. Pushing his hands farther he grazed over the lace of her panties and curled his fingers pulling them down slightly.

"Are you worried about me?" he asked in a low undertone, the question sounding so foreign to him since he's never had to wonder it about anyone before.

Josette had been the only exception; her concern for him emitted off of her like a force all of its own for as long as he could remember up until she turned her back on him. Both had argued over the fact that they felt like _the older twin_ because of this unbreakable bond and need to keep the other safe – of course Kai _was_ the oldest by a minute but Josette always believed that he was the one that needed the protection more.

The fickle thing about having someone who cares about you and worries for your wellbeing is what happens when those overpowering emotions turn sour, and hostility, resentment, and loathing seep into its place. Kai's witnessed firsthand the downside of having someone feel an attachment to him; the dangers it put Josette in and the knife it left in his back - and this was against his own sister almost twenty years ago. He had a strong intuition that if Bonnie took him on the same rollercoaster ending in her disloyalty he wouldn't react as calmly as he has in the past.

"Yes," broke through his thoughts and his eyes focused on hers now a few inches away "but in my defense you look like hell."

"I've been to Hell, a couple times," he smiled and pulled her in by the back of her hips watching her reaction "it didn't feel like this."

Bonnie gasped quietly and rocked into him, slipping her hands under his hood and running them smoothly around his collar to where his pendant fell. Putting her palms flat on his chest her green irises looked into his and chanted in Latin.

 _Calefactus sum, sicut calidum igni calor omne desiderium meum…_

Kai felt his smile itching to make its way across his face but he fought it off curious to see what she had planned when he felt a blanket of heat overcome him and surround him like a shield. He sighed in appreciation as it felt like he just gained three extra sweatshirts weighing him down and Bonnie unzipped his the rest of the way trailing her hands down as the warmth followed. Grumbling in the back of his throat his arm circled to cage her in feeling it flood down his legs to his toes.

The sudden heatwave spiked his temperature leaving him dizzy, as well as reigniting his fire inside as his heart rate picked up. Leaning forward he held her so she could lean back and Bonnie let out a rough exhale feeling him notched firmly against her and curled her nails into his stomach.

"Stop it I'm trying to help you," she breathed.

"You are," he agreed running his nose across her collar up to her neck feeling his breath coming out swiftly against her skin.

This sudden flare of intensity Kai felt had him pushing past the boundaries that Bonnie kept attempting to put up and felt a deep motivation to bulldoze them down. Holding her hips securely to him he started moving his and felt her thighs clench pressing back into him without a conscious thought; his teeth grinding from forcing himself to not turn and slam her into the cushions stripping her of her minimal clothing .

Finding a happy middle he kept his face close to her neck and un-wrapped his arm to ease her out of her shirt encasing his mouth around one nipple as his palm covered the other. Moaning Bonnie lifted her head back to the ceiling and ran her fingernails through his hair locking her to him as her hips continued to roll over his. Biting down gently she gasped and jerked into him making the lights flicker as his hands trailed down to grip her waistband, not coming up with any logical reason for why they were still on.

" _Don't_ ," she warned and he growled running his hands up her back thrusting into her, Bonnie's sounds enticing him farther.

"Why not?"

"Two reasons," she said hanging her head to stare down at him "one – I'm not sleeping with you."

Kai snorted out a response and leaned forward to bite the crook of her neck.

" _Two_ ," she emphasized "in case reason one isn't enough, I'm not sleeping with you _in my Gram's house._ "

Kai glanced back up at her with brows drawn and couldn't understand why that statement seemed to be having some power over him. He scanned his surroundings quickly and could have laughed out loud at the irony of the situation he was in; with a Bennett witch, in the house he used to think of as his second home – his refuge. Looking back at her lust-filled expression he smirked letting his hands aimlessly roam across her skin.

"Okay, that's fair. Doesn't mean we can't do other things," he said gruffly and brought his hand up her stomach cupping her breast.

Bonnie pushed his sweatshirt out of the way leaning in and glided her hands down his back, the magic sizzling out of her fingertips igniting something in him instantly. Kai's limbs moved restlessly feeling the small surge of power go through him and moved her at a steady pace against him watching her slowly unravel at the contact through his sweats. Closing her shaky fingers on the sides of his neck he felt the sensation vibrating through his skin and kissed her chest, leaving pecks up to her neck moving to devour her lips when she leaned back.

"Did you hear that?"

Kai tried to pay attention to what she was saying as his hands flexed against her skin when he heard the pounding against the door. Jumping off his lap Bonnie tripped over the coffee table starting to fall backwards but Kai was quicker standing and snaking his arm around her waist pulling her to him. Flustered Bonnie swatted him away and covered her chest, looking around like a small skittish animal and snatched her shirt off the ground yanking it over her head.

"Bon-Bon I know you're in there; open up!" Damon's voice boomed from the main door.

"Well look who it is," Kai sing-songed "Mr. cockblock himself."

"Shut up," Bonnie huffed pushing him backwards into the next room "you have to hide right now – go somewhere, go upstairs."

Bonnie dragged him by the arm around the corner when the front door was kicked in down the hall and she slammed him back into another wall leaning into him to be out of view. Kai took advantage of the situation of Bonnie throwing him around and nuzzled his face into the side of hers before she batted at him again and gave him a death glare.

"Bonnie – if you're alive in there come to the door," he urged hitting his palm off the doorframe and she looked up at Kai confused before turning and urging him in the opposite direction of the stairs.

"You'll never make it past him just… hide in the back room on the left and _don't_ make a sound."

Bonnie shoved him into the open door and closed it, him opening it a crack and hearing her run around before landing in front of the door.

"What the hell Damon?" he heard her say.

"I had to make sure mini Charles Manson didn't get to you too," he huffed and Kai rolled his eyes at the dramatization.

"What are you talking about?"

"Kai – that fugitive you thought was smart to bring back home with you – he just offed some kid at Stefan's," Damon boomed and Kai growled through an exhale, his forehead thudding off the doorframe preparing himself for the shit-storm Damon's about to cause for him.

-x—x—x—

" _What?_ " Bonnie let out mystified "that's not possible, I was with him the whole time."

"Well there must have been a moment where he slithered away like the snake he is."

"I don't think he'd be dumb enough to try it in a crowded house," she started but he cut her off.

"But he would _outside_ , in the dark where there are no witnesses."

Bonnie's vision blurred playing through the moment he left the car and walked to the side of the house for no longer than a minute.

"I had to check and see if he had continued his streak with you."

"He wouldn't," Bonnie brushed off pulling the door closed and walking past him to the porch swing on their left.

"Of course he would," he stressed "it's nothing he hasn't done already – it might be the only thing he's good at and consistent with. Where did you go after you left Stefan's?"

"I-" she hesitated still stuck on the concept that Kai could have killed a person and went through the rest of the night with her unfazed "I dropped him off at the hospital and came here. Who was it? How did they die – how do you know it was him?"

"Kai showed up and an hour later somebody was found dead that wasn't drained of blood… it was him," he said pointedly "the kid was found face down in a puddle that not even an intoxicated moron would drown in."

Bonnie looked at the ground thinking back to them grabbing their coats, walking out the front door to the car – and Kai glancing back at the house before unlocking the doors and walking away. When he came back there weren't any tension or stress indicators to give her an inkling of the heinous act he could have just gotten through with. And she definitely didn't sense any hovering thoughts about it once they were here and getting tangled into situations they shouldn't be in.

"Did he have a black eye?"

"That's the question that comes to mind?" she turned to face him and saw him eyeing her out of his peripheral still standing near the door, a skeptical look displayed all over his face. "Hard to tell, his face did get the brunt of the damage; why, would that make a difference?"

Bonnie shrugged and bit the corner of her lip knowing exactly who it was and the culprit behind it was hiding out in her bedroom. Her mind crossed over the pros and cons of telling Damon it was the same drunken college kid that was harassing her; ranging anywhere between Damon putting together he'd still be in the house, to getting another piece of information that proves they've gotten closer than she's letting on. All the bullet points she's coming up with seem to be falling in the cons section leaving her at a loss at how she is going to handle this – against both men.

"I just don't see how he could have done it without me noticing," she pressed trying to veer off the current topic "I was with him since he got there and we left in the same car. Maybe this kid outside really did stumble out there drunk and couldn't see, tripped and landed in the puddle."

"You didn't see this ' _puddle'_ , if you could even call it that. Back one day and there's a murder in the backyard – does that not sound like home sweet home to the budding psychopath?"

Bonnie felt the urge to correct him with _sociopath_ but didn't feel like opening up that door right now.

"Call me crazy but Elena and I just got you back and we're not going to let the baggage that caught a free ride home have any more power over you. Kai's reign of terror stopped at the 90's border with grunge and fanny packs; it's just a matter of time before Alaric's girlfriend can quit the hysterics and the mini Gemini's do their witchy wonder spell to be the next Chosen One."

"And what is the plan after that, take away the power from Kai and let everyone go their separate ways? Or is their intention to put him back in the hole I just pulled him out of?"

"Who cares?" he said sitting beside her staring back into his icy blue irises "if _Saint Malachai_ is already picking off random juveniles then he's getting himself ready for the oncoming war – a war you're going to get stuck in the middle off if you don't cut him off before it's too late."

"I'm not in the middle of anything."

"Not yet, but once the lines are drawn of Kai on one side and everyone else on the other you'll open your eyes to the fact that there's no hope for him."

"You know I used to think the same thing about you," she argued.

"And look at how far I've come since then," he smirked squinting his eyes and leaning in closer "but while I suffer from _vampire traits_ that you've become well accustomed to he has _daddy issues_ that there's no coming back from. Take Stefan for example; he went back to settle his deep-rooted problems with our father and thus began the century and a half long bloodlust. Mark my words from someone who has seen the gruesome truth up close and personal, nothing good comes from dysfunctional family reunions – bloodshed is inevitable."

Bonnie avoided his eyes and crossed her arms feeling the breeze hit her taking in everything he was saying; all the information being things she knows already but hitting her differently hearing it from another person's standpoint. As she was well aware of the dangers of letting Kai out back into the world she couldn't find it in herself to leave him behind; the connection that she fought desperately since the day his intense stare set something ablaze within her and ignited the spark to break through to her magic seemed to continue to have an invisible tether on her.

Now that she let Kai out of his cage she felt an underlying sense of dread at any scenario that could play out before her eyes; many ranging from his death to the deaths of everyone else. Bonnie felt the undeniable pull to break him out because she didn't want his father destroying him on her conscious; but now her reality was that _someone_ 's life is coming to an end, and Bonnie felt the unshakable chill in her bones that she was going to be the one responsible for it.

"I want you to stay away from him;" Damon said authoritatively "his nutty family is coming for him and the rest of us are ready to take him out at the first sign of a move on Jo."

"Damon-"

"This isn't up for debate;" he gripped her hand "you're going to keep your distance before Kai uses you as his own magical shield and siphons you dry before tossing you aside. You heard the story of how he ended up in that prison world from the lunatic himself and how he had no intention of stopping once he made it out. One way or another some major things are going to start happening, and if you're as eager to be back in the real world as your infuriatingly optimistic self was during our quest home than you will listen to me."

Bonnie knew it wasn't as easy as Damon was making it, even though he was making a lot of sense that is helping clear through her lust-filled haze. But she was certain that if she pushed the matter he would do the same and they'd end up in a never-ending debate.

"Okay, fine," she agreed "I'll lay low for a couple days but you have to fill me in on everything you've all come up with while I've been gone because I only know half of what's going on."

" _Kai's_ half, which I'm sure is filled with deceit and manipulation to make you feel sorry for him but I know you're wittier than that and can see through all of his calculated moves."

"Yeah I've gotten pretty decent at reading him," she murmured as her thoughts played through the variety of moments they've gotten into.

"Which is all the better, _witch_ - _Bon_ has turned into _agent-witch-Bon_ with her new classified information fighting with the rest of the Scooby Gang; just like the old times," his smile shined and she tried to muster up one in response.

The wind picked up and raced through Bonnie's veins, the mixture of nature and her charged feelings over the topic at hand fueling her body making her limbs shake.

"I'm freezing Damon, unlike you I have to worry about my body temperature dropping below a certain point before hypothermia kicks in. Care told me she gave her mom her blood earlier today so we're going to head there tomorrow afternoon and see how she's doing, are you going too?"

"I have to see how the Sherriff in town is doing," he smirked "Elena has a late shift so I'll meet you there, she heads in around two."

Bonnie nodded before standing and heading for the door, gripping the handle as she turned back to face him.

"Thanks," she smiled "for coming to check on me."

"Well when there's a killer in town the first person they tend to go after is the _witch,_ " he hissed out and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Lucky for me I've had to go through this once or twice before," she remarked and opened the door behind her stepping back through the entryway "goodnight Damon."

"Remember what I said, sweet dreams Bonster," he purred and turned heading down the stairs and around the sidewalk.

Bonnie exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding and shut the door finding Kai standing in the dining room off to her left near the open windows. She held up a finger when he opened his mouth to be sure Damon was out of earshot and turned to storm down the hall to her childhood room, ignoring his presence behind her as she threw on the winter coat she brought back with her.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Looking around for the keys she scooped them off the bureau and turned back eyeing Kai standing just outside of the door frame. He looked back at her then at his surroundings, a small smile appearing as he casually put his hand on the frame blocking her escape.

"A little late to be going for a joyride – especially without any pants," he observed looking at her legs as the grin spread across his face.

Bonnie could feel her throat closing from anger and gripped the keys until her knuckles were white; wrestling to keep her thoughts inside without internally combusting. Evening out her stance she debated using a spell to force him out of the way but knew it wouldn't take more than a nudge to physically move him. Kai raised his eyebrows curiously in response and the small gesture pushed her forward until she was up against him glaring into his eyes.

"Get out of my way."

"Bonnie-"

Bonnie pushed against his chest hearing the beginning of what she was sure was a fool-proof explanation and did it again harder, giving him a little credit when he refused to budge.

"You know I can't just let you leave."

"Kai I swear… get out – of my way."

"Oh come on it was one frat guy who probably already had it coming."

"And you just get to decide?" she questioned hearing her voice raise another octave "you have the say to kill anyone you deem fit and feel no remorse for it?"

"For that dick? The only thing I know about him is that he scared you and _he_ wasn't showing any signs of deep regret or guilt over it."

"You've done the same thing," she sneered through gritted teeth and tried to move around him, Kai snatching the keys out of her hand before stepping back.

"I don't recall ever giving you panic attacks."

"Being surrounded by people gave me the panic attack!" she huffed walking back down the hall to the front door.

"And he made you cry," he continued "something I have not personally caused or witnessed on you until tonight."

"I felt like the room was closing in and I was freaking out – of course my emotions got the best of me," she spun around and went for the keys that were out of reach "that doesn't mean you go and murder somebody because of it!"

Kai's eyebrows drew in at her outburst that comically enough to him most likely seemed theatrical and shoved the keys in his pants pocket.

"Kai I am leaving or you are; I can't be around you right now."

"You've been around me for months now; I think you can handle more than you think."

"I don't _want_ to be around you," she rephrased.

"I find that hard to believe," he shrugged and his non-committal gesture had her lunging for his pocket, Kai letting out a chuckle and a grunt when he tried to back out of reach and collided with the wall.

"Use your words, Bon," Kai said roughly as she continued to tangle her hands with his.

"Give me the keys or I will _Motus_ you through the wall," she gritted with determination and pushed her hand into his pocket wrapping her fingers around the cold metal.

Kai spun them and pinned her to the wall with his hips, her hand stuck between their thighs and let out a frustrated sound.

"You can't be this upset," Kai said in a serious tone looking into her eyes.

"Are you kidding?"

"You didn't even know him, your only altercation was a bad one and now you and I don't have to lose sleep over it."

Bonnie maneuvered her hand out of his pocket and he held her wrist pulling it over her head. She let out a rough noise through her teeth and thudded her head off the wall as the surge of anger radiated off her skin.

"You just don't get it," she snapped.

"Then explain it to me."

"You drowned someone tonight, the same someone that knew was bothering me earlier and he's now dead because of it. You did this because of me… which means he died-"

"Because of me," he finished for her.

Acutely aware of his body pressed up against hers she gripped the collar of his sweatshirt with her other hand pushing against him, her flood of contradicting thoughts she's gone through over the past 45 minutes weighing down on her, deflating her adrenaline.

"You aren't one of those people who internalize everyone else's actions, right? Making their problems your own, because I got to tell you - that would get pretty exhausting when all your friends survive by eating the living."

"They have blood bags and other ways to attack and erase without causing any permanent damage. You on the other hand come in like a tornado and immediately start wiping things out – and now you're doing it because of me!" she shook her head and dropped it low, the guilt of what happened settling in deep.

"I made my own decision and it resulted in his unfortunate shortcomings on this Earth, these things happen. Don't start feeling bad over things you weren't even a part of," he said close to her ear and ran his hand up her ribs underneath the jacket cupping the side of her neck forcing her gaze to meet his. "I'm serious Bonnie."

"Let me go."

"You'll run," he answered back and he wasn't wrong, she had already planned out her multiple escape routes for when he wasn't caging her in "just talk to me."

" _No._ "

Kai sighed and hung his head, lifting it back up to look over her features before nodding and swiping the keys out of her hand. Stepping back he gave her enough room to duck out the side, glancing back and forth from the front door to down the hall. Bonnie got the distinct impression she wasn't going to be getting hold of those keys for long tonight and headed for her room slamming the door shut behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next three hours went by in a blur of constant thoughts and pacing around the room, sleep seeming like a distant memory in Bonnie's overworked mind. She heard noises in the kitchen and the stairs creaking letting her know Kai was just as awake and active as her. The clock on the bedside table ticked past 4AM and her stomach growled on cue; her chaotic sleep schedule still on full swing as she tried to get reacquainted with the real world. Opening the door a crack she listened for any sign of movement and heard Kai bellow out a laugh at the TV in the other room, taking the moment to slip halfway down the hall turning left into the kitchen.

Digging through the fridge she pulled out a water bottle and block of cheese, going for the cabinet to find the crackers and lastly searching for a knife. Scooping everything in her hands and under her arm she darted across the floor and glided back in the room dropping everything on her bed before shutting the door. Bonnie ate through her midnight snack lost in a daydream playing through the night; starting at her first wave of panic when a drunken college kid wouldn't take no for an answer to hearing the news that the same guy was found dead a few hours later.

Kai's voice rang in her ears trying to soothe her flustered state and his concerned stare flashed in front of her, in that split second believing he truly did want to try and help her. Gritting her teeth she remembers feeling the weight lighting off her chest the longer she was around Kai until she was laughing out loud twirling around the room. When they made it back home she still felt he same sense of solace blanket her and burn through her wary thoughts, giving herself the freedom to get lost in the moment before the metaphorical ' _other shoe_ ' inevitably came crashing down.

What felt like minutes passed by in a flash, groaning out loud seeing the clock turn 5:23AM. Before Bonnie spiraled into another internal battle she shut off the lights and got comfortable, hoping the exhaustion would rear its ugly head and knock her out but her incessant mind had other plans. Tossing and turning Bonnie felt her aggravation at herself, at Kai, and at the whole situation she's trapped in getting stronger until it was seeping out of her; punching the pillows for comfort and slamming her palms off the mattress when she'd find herself still awake in a room that was steadily filling with daylight.

Bonnie could feel the pounding behind her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose, refusing to look at the time as her limbs shook restlessly. During nights like these she was certain she would be the perfect candidate for one of those sleep studies she heard about through high school; her fatigued mind and body in a losing battle against the continuous ramblings that she can't seem to block out seeming like a top choice for experimentation. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she felt the sudden awareness of her full bladder and groggily made her way down the hall taking her first right into the bathroom.

With her eyes half closed Bonnie made it down the rest of the way curious to see if Kai had gotten any sleep and found him curled up on one side of the couch. Contradicting thoughts flying around she couldn't help but notice how small he looked bundled up and her legs compelled her forward until she was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. Looking over his form her small smile turned to stone taking into account he wasn't shivering or moving restlessly. Bonnie leaned in a little closer and didn't hear wheezing, instincts taking over as she gripped his sweatshirt and shook him.

"Kai, wake up!"

Bright eyes shot open and sat up straight, looking at his surroundings before landing on Bonnie.

"What's wrong?"

Bonnie blew out a frustrated breath and let go of the fabric, walking back around the table and treading across the wooden floor.

"Nothing… _everything_ – never mind go back to sleep," she murmured heading back for her room.

"Then why did you wake me up?" he wondered standing to step towards her.

"Just making sure your heart still works," she joked with the undercurrent of honesty.

"Nothing like a scare tactic to get your blood-pressure rising," he smiled looking her over "have you slept yet?"

Bonnie checked over herself as well wondering what her outward appearance looked like and if it was up to par with what was swirling around internally. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked back and his equally fatigued manner.

"Some, you don't look like you slept much either."

"You would be correct," he nodded and smirked "even less now."

Bonnie's eyes trailed to the floor feeling a small rush of blamefulness and shrugged in response.

"It's alright," he continued "I wasn't staying asleep anyway; I didn't have my human bonfire to keep me warm."

Bonnie squinted her eyes at the pun and pursed her lips, hoping that it was just the raging thoughts that was keeping her up through the night and that she doesn't suffer from his same dilemma.

"How are you feeling?" she veered off to the topic and stepped towards him "hopefully better than you look."

Kai tilted his head and smiled genuinely, shrugging and biting his bottom look.

"Depends on how I look."

"Terrible," she responded back automatically and he took on a mock-hurt expression putting his hand to his chest.

"You _wound me,_ " he breathed "maybe I'm just not a morning person."

"You _aren't._ "

"I'm not the only one," he let out cheekily he she shrugged in response.

"Fine, suffer." she turned going back towards her room.

"Did you have something else in mind?"

"Temporary fix seemed to ease your frigidness last time… even though it didn't go exactly as I had planned," she said with a shake of her head turning into the bedroom.

"I thought you did an excellent job," he smiled resting his hand on the doorframe above his head "haven't felt that good since I got back."

"You mean you didn't feel that good when you were killing someone?"

"We're still on that?" he sighed "Bon you got to stop living in the past."

"It was last night."

"Exactly," he breathed out deeply "it's a whole new day."

"You're unbelievable," she grated deflating a little inside when she glanced at the clock reading 8:13AM.

"Thank you," he said with a nod and walked into the room "so about that pick me up…"

"I don't know," she mused "a part of me isn't feeling too generous right now."

"You would deny a person who's reaching out to you?"

"I might just make an exception for you."

"Awh I'm touched, although I didn't expect it any other way," he winked and walked past her sitting on the foot of the bed "so how do you want to do this?"

" _Not on the bed,_ " she said pointedly and checked her surroundings, leaning back to sit on the dresser and glowered at him until he took the hint and walked towards her.

Bonnie tried not to let Kai's weakened outer appearance cloud over the dark threat he had harboring inside him, knowing all too well of what he's capable of if he puts his mind to it. Closing the distance Kai didn't stop until his legs were against her knees and raised an eyebrow at her, Bonnie staring back hesitantly. His sweatshirt was zipped to the very top but the heatwave spell required skin-to-skin contact which she wasn't too thrilled about. Steeling herself she looked from his eyes to the zipper and her hand fisted on her lap.

"No need to feel bashful now Bon, I've watched you undress with me your eyes plenty of times – feel free to un-wrap me any way you like."

Bonnie's mouth popped open at the statement and she was certain was giving him one of her best death stares mixed with genuine bewilderment. The words sunk in deeper and she had to shake them clear to focus on the task at hand, staring up at him as she slowly pulled the zipper to the bottom and noticed his pupils dilate when she reached the end. Truth be told Bonnie was more than a little apprehensive to do this since the last time it escalated to a point she couldn't stay in control anymore, and was on edge that she was going to get drawn into it again. Placing her hand directly in the center of his chest her mouth turned down and she couldn't place which was more troubling; his slow heartbeat or that his skin was icy to the touch like he'd been outside all night. If something didn't change within his immediate future, there was no way Kai was going to be making it to the merge let alone coming out the survivor.

"And you expect to go up against your sister… like this?"

"I'm tougher than I look," he said lowly and his piercing eyes bore into hers, her eye-line out of focus with anything in particular as memories sprung of how just much he's had to endure and the significant moments that brought him here.

Bonnie couldn't stop her smile in agreement and breathed in deep, clearing her head and closing her eyes repeating the chant once again. The magic stirred in her fingertips and connected with his skin; his hum in the back of his throat signaling they both felt it at the same time as the magic started to spread out from where her hand was placed. Kai's breath puffed in front of her and she had to force herself to focus on the words as Kai urged her legs apart and snaked his arm around her back pulling her into him.

"No touching," she murmured through the chant trying not to lose her flow.

" _But I like touching you_ ," he purred against her ear and the hairs raised on the back of her neck on cue, the chill going straight down to her core as his arm caged her in.

"Either you can stop or I will."

Kai laughed out a rough exhale loosening his arm, Bonnie sensing how close he was when his right palm rested against the mirror. His heart was beating significantly faster against her hand but his skin still felt cold and she opened her eyes to his dark stare inches away from her.

"Do you feel any warmer?"

"Mhm," he hummed running his hand against the wood near her thigh "you're getting me all hot and bothered."

Bonnie let out a surprised laugh and felt it vibrating through her body tingling with her magic and energy, Kai's smile spreading as he leaned forward towering over her and she had to put her other hand on his chest to stop. His intense stare drew her in as she watched a simmering of darkness flash behind his eyes and gritted his teeth, letting out an exasperated noise.

"Are you going to be like this all day?"

"No," she thought for a moment "right now I'm being _kind_ and _considerate_ , I don't plan on keeping that up for much longer."

"Actually you're being dramatic," he breathed through a sly smile "and overanalyzing; but that's what happens when your mind is filled with your thoughts on top of everyone else's and they all contradict each other. Tell me, if I had walked in mid-panic attack and saw someone scaring and hurting you, which in turn resulted with an icepick to his throat – would that be considered an act of self-defense?"

"He wasn't hurting me-"she started to argue and felt the connection to the spell dissipating as the last of the heat left her fingertips.

"But he could have; who's to know because you stopped him before it got to that but say you didn't and he has you pinned to the wall – like this," he demonstrated lifting his hand off the dresser to yank her bare legs over his sweatpants and glanced down at her hands. "And you can't push him away, the room starts spinning and you think to yourself ' _hm, I wonder how badly this is going to end for me.'_ Then would it have been okay?"

" _No_ ," she answered back stubbornly.

"What if he shoved you into the closest bedroom?"

" _What_?" she snapped, her automatic reaction to push him away as his fingers encircled her wrists.

"I'm just trying to see how far at risk your life has to be before you decide to let anyone save you – including yourself. Me, I terminate the issue at the first sign of a problem, but you?" he laughed with a shake of his head "how was it you ended up in my neck of the woods? I seem to recall eavesdropping on a conversation about ' _of all the people you couldn't bring back from the Otherside to be stuck with…'_ which tells me that you had the opportunity to get out of being trapped in another realm and chose not to."

"It's not that simple," she disagreed.

"Because you were saving your friends, how noble of you; and was that the first time you've put yourself in that predicament?"

Bonnie ground her teeth refusing to break eye contact but was in no hurry to respond to a question they both knew the answer to.

"Is there a point to any of this?"

"Two actually," he smiled "the first is that you don't seem to have a high regard for your life that I watched you so desperately fight to get back to, and yet you're coming at me for not caring about some nobody's well-being. Second; you find it justifiable to veer off from your moral compass when it means protecting a friend, so how is this any different?"

"We're friends?" she asked taken off-guard.

"You might be my only friend," he chuckled but his eyes stayed sober "and maybe I can get a little possessive – you got me – but what's done is done so can you just… get past this?"

Kai's aura was like an invisible shield pulling and blanketing her in, hypnotizing her with his cunning manipulation - what she's starting to believe is an involuntary manner of his. More times than she could count Kai has had a way with words and the intelligence to paint a picture in a different light that still tells the story but sugarcoats it in the mindset that he wants you to be in; a skill he's seemed to master by this point. What Bonnie found most infuriating about his method of attack was how convincing and unsuspecting he could be; being able to admit from experience that he has changed the way she's seen certain actions and viewpoints and could still feel vindicated.

"Why did you do it?" she heard her voice say clearing the haze of her daydream "be honest with me; were you itching to kill something, felt obligated because I was in a frenzy, thought you were helping me…"

"I wasn't going to give him a second chance to hurt you;" he shrugged "I can't spend all my time with you after all and that would have been an annoying distraction to think about."

"Kai you can't kill anyone because of me," she blurted and watched his eyes roll with a smirk.

"Bonnie-"

"I mean it – never again. I don't want anyone's life at risk because of me; promise me."

Kai's head turned slightly and squinted looking skeptical, his lips pursing trying not to smile "would you rather me promise something I probably won't keep or be up front about it?"

"I want you to _be up front_ and _promise me_ that you're not going to harm anyone because of me. Please Kai, it's bad enough I let you out knowing you had your own hit list, you can't start adding names onto it on my behalf too. The only way I'm going to get past what you did last night is if you tell me you won't do it again."

Kai's eyes trailed over her face, his jaw ticking as he mulled over his options and shook his head letting out a chuckle.

"This is a pretty strange request…"

"But necessary," Bonnie finished for him and his grin spread wide.

"True, okay how about I promise I won't start anything - just retaliate."

"Absolutely not," she said with a single shake of her head "try again."

Kai rubbed his thumbs over the inside of her wrists tilting his head left to right "only if they really deserve it."

"Not even close."

"I don't know you're making this pretty tough."

Running her hands up his chest to his neck she felt his grip trail down and tighten on her forearms, " _say it_."

"I promise I won't kill any random civilians whose actions may seem harmless but in reality could end your life," he rushed " _but_ you seem to be forgetting one major factor that puts a kink in his verbal contract of yours."

"What's that?"

"My coven leader will take you out to get to me. Or set you up as bait, whichever's better suited for his plan."

"I highly doubt-"

"Don't," he said with a serious edge "don't doubt what he's capable of doing, and don't assume you know how any of this is going to turn out. You've only seen glimpses of my past but you should be able to get a handle on the type of man and dictator he is. Not to mention his old-school love for Guerrilla warfare; finding authority in sabotage, petty warfare, ambushes – along with his forms of torture, oh yeah it'll just be a day at the park for you."

"You don't have to dwell on me," Bonnie rebuffed "my Bennett magic is flowing through my veins again I think I'm safe."

"Believe what you want," Kai murmured dragging her hands slowly down his chest landing on his waistband and holding them there "but he's no halfwit, and he's been waiting for this. You may have been the unexpected curveball in the prison world but your element of surprise is gone."

"I'm not even a part of this," she said for the second time in less than 12 hours.

"If you're not with him you're against him, and you have given him the incentive to believe that."

"You should be able to use your common sense to come up with something less severe than annihilation."

"It's more efficient, gets the job done, and oh yeah – it's a permanent solution; what was it you were saying?"

"I was saying it's pretty _un_ common for that to be the first thing a person resorts to," she quipped and noticed her fingers curl around his waistband trying to shake the surge of importance that reignited the fluttering in her stomach.

"Oh people choose this as their go-to solution more than you'd like to believe, which is surprising to me – seeing who you align yourself with."

"Don't start; it's too early in the day to deal with you."

"Is there a preferable time you like to get a handle on me? Put me in my place, have your way with me-"

"Okay," Bonnie interrupted ripping her hands away from his waist but not out of his grip and leaned back to put a foot of distance between them "which reminds me; knock it off with the innuendos."

"I have no idea when you could be speaking of."

" _You know,"_ she glared.

"I'm just telling them about the good times we've had and that we've been around each other enough to know how to pass the time – you're the one dirtying it all up in that mind of yours."

"Because I know what's in _your_ filthy mind," she stared back blankly and watched Kai bite his bottom in a losing battle against the grin shining through.

"I like that you know some of the stuff that's tucked away up here, it's different."

Bonnie felt her lips curve up at the unexpected and somewhat vulnerable remark and Kai loosened his grip to rub her forearms leaving goosebumps across her skin.

"You've never had that with anyone; someone to tell secrets to and let in your head?"

"No," he laughed "why would I want to tell somebody my secrets, isn't that kind of the point of them?"

"So another person knows what you're going through, and that maybe they could relate to what you're feeling or know ways to help."

Kai smiled at her but it didn't meet his eyes, glancing away before landing back on her with a shift in the atmosphere "my family knew."

"Did you talk to Jo about it?"

"Not really."

"Why?"

"Because she already knew…" he reiterated in a slow voice like she wasn't comprehending "can't tell her any secrets when she's well-aware, and I knew she couldn't help so there's no point in rehashing it."

"Yeah but some things you just need to let out," she persisted "be with someone that you can talk to about anything – good or bad, and who you're comfortable enough with to let in to see the parts you hide. Everyone has a side of themselves they don't want the rest of the world to see… it's not just you, but most have that one person that grounds us and reminds us of who we really are; the best traits of ourselves."

"And what's so great about having someone special like this in your life?" he pondered with his gaze locked into hers, his hands stopping their roaming near her wrists.

Bits and pieces of cliché answers popped into her head of the joy of having amazing friends in your life but one word sprang to mind and rang out above the rest.

"Trust," she declared not breaking eye contact "if you're lucky enough to have someone that can relate to you and be yourself around, you build this unbreakable bond within each other that's cemented in love and loyalty. I think it gives people hope, knowing they are more important than their self-perceived worth."

Bonnie couldn't get a read on Kai's expression as his gaze bore into hers, occasionally giving a brief glance at her lips and she felt her body temperature rising as the silence ticked on.

"Did you have anything like that with Jo?" she asked breaking the silence that seemed like a thick fog in the room quickly absorbing all of the oxygen.

Kai continued his deep stare as if he hadn't even heard her and she wondered if this is what it was like on the other side of the spectrum; witnessing the person go through an internal battle in their mind and you stayed outside helplessly unaware. Leaning forward Bonnie grabbed hold of his wrists and watched the faraway look fade replaced by a clear unguardedness that anchored her attention in.

"What are you thinking?" she asked quietly with her head cocked to one side and his face lit up in response " _what?"_

"Nothing," he said softly which only urged her curiosity farther "I guess I had a version of that with Josette; she's the one I'd talk to but I don't know if I'd go and call her _my person_ or anything. And trust wasn't something that was handed out at Sunday dinner in the Parker household so it's a little iffy for me to spot it."

"You never trusted your sister?"

Kai's eyes flashed with fury and Bonnie's widened; letting go of her wrists and clearing his throat in response as he took a step back answering casually, "of course I did."

Wetting her lips Bonnie thought back to moments of them during his handful of dream memories and watched them both love, comfort, and protect each other even in the last one six months prior to his 22nd birthday. She would be the first one to agree with Kai that he doesn't have many friends, associates, or people he could even say he didn't mind tolerating – but he did have a close confidant at one point in his life that ended abruptly and in a head-on collision.

"Are you hungry?" he asked already walking towards the door, Bonnie squinting in suspicion that he was trying to leave the room.

"What were you thinking about?" she attempted again hopping off the bureau and following him out.

"You're still on that?" he chuckled turning into the kitchen.

"You're incessant banter goes on for days over a single topic… it's only been two minutes."

Opening the fridge he grabbed eggs and butter, scooping the bread off the counter and placing them next to the stove. He unhurriedly made his way to the silverware for forks and knives grabbing a bowl and plate on his way back, cracking a couple eggs into the bowl and mixing it around with the fork. Kai whistled as he worked; multitasking from the eggs to the buttering the pan on the stove and pressing the pieces of bread into the egg before sizzling them in the pan. Bonnie felt the urge to press one of the egg-soaked pieces of bread into his face when his eyes shifted to her out of his peripheral and noticed her assessing him.

"It's nothing you want to know," he vocalized cracking up "you'll wish I didn't tell you."

"I can handle it."

"How do you know?"

"Because… I wanna know," she commented and her overtired mind had her giggling as Kai's bright smile widened and shook his head.

"Alright, I'll tell you under one condition,"

"Of course – and what's that?"

"You have to tell me if I was right or if you're glad I told you."

"Okay," she said not listening to what his demands were.

"I was thinking about you," he stated flipping the bread and hearing it sizzle in the pan "and talking to you about my family, my past… me; things no one else knows because I haven't cared to tell anyone. I was _thinking_ your description sounded dangerously close to what's been progressing between us."

Bonnie could feel her eyes moving rapidly shifting between his eyes and down at the pan, a little taken back as she always seemed to be when Kai opened up and left himself exposed to her scrutiny. He scooped the French toast onto both plates and went back to the fridge rummaging until he popped in front of her holding syrup.

"No fresh fruits, no confectionary sugar; I'll admit it's not my best," he drew a sad face on one of the pieces before pushing it towards her and she couldn't contain her laughter.

"I think I'll live," she chuckled walking over to the small table behind her to put her plate down before heading back to the fridge and pulling out the orange juice pouring them both a glass.

They ate in silence for the first five minutes and she took that time to let her mind wander to dissect Kai's statement in regards to how she described having someone significant in your life and dissected every inch of it. Bonnie knew she's always had the fortune of not only having one best friend that she's known almost her entire life and can go to for anything, but two – and had tried to make it a point to show her appreciation of that fact any way she could.

Kai had a different upbringing from the rest of the world; being raised in a strict coven and suffering by being the outcast, making him even more secluded from the world. From what he's let her in on and eavesdropped into herself, he put up a barrier against anyone who tried to get close to him – like Gabby – and couldn't show her his true self through their entire relationship. Although she witnessed his graduating class erupt into applause when Kai took the stage all anyone really knew about him was what he chose to tell them and she could only imagine the creativity that veered him far from the path of what he has described as ' _his destiny'_. Through the span of his life Kai has truly only ever had one person who understood and loved him unconditionally, the one he put all of his trust into and by the luck of the draw was the same individual who he was fated to ritual sacrifice with where only one could survive. It made Bonnie wonder how much of his heart Kai really put into his closest relationship since he always knew what the inevitable outcome would be.

Now Bonnie was made aware of the very impactful statement that she had managed to become his exception; the one that's broken through the barrier and he can show his true self to – which is ironic given the _near-and-actual-death experiences_ they had put each other through in the beginning. Everything had changed between them once the nightmares started in; triggering something deep within the both of them and has stopped at nothing to break itself free. With every bone in her body she has tried to put physical distance between them so she could mentally detach herself, but the more attempts she's made the clearer it is that there is a magnetic force between the two of them and her resistance has her struggling to move one step forward before being tugged two steps back.

What Bonnie found to be the most eye-opening that not only snuck up on her but blindsided her completely was the _real_ person she found underneath; battered and beaten down underneath the rubble of abuse, neglect, isolation, and need for revenge. Finding herself in the same room with the problematic ' _villain'_ with a rocky past is something she has almost found comical since befriending a handful of emotional vampires, but Kai's story hit her in an unfamiliar way. This wasn't a supernatural creature with _life or death_ situations, but a witch – like herself – born into a world of magic. Dissimilar from her own childhood of blissful ignorance Kai was raised in a coven, forced into their tactics and methods and was punished by his own father for not conforming and fitting into what he demanded.

Kai also had to endure all of this while being human, a defining trait that Bonnie was starting to miss being around. More times than she'd openly admit she found comfort in their repartee and had almost gotten used to their routine of being around him. Ever since her subconscious started poking and prodding at her to find answers she feels like she has done nothing but that; peeling back layers of Kai's exterior digging deeper from a sociopath, to a dangerous threat, and finally seeing the human being that was pushed past his breaking point. Bonnie's paid attention when Kai's tried describing his mindset and reasoning behind his actions and she's seen firsthand the pain and torment he has had to battle through along the way.

Bonnie's gotten to know the man behind the sinister mask and it has been an experience she never would have imagined or believed that she would be going through. Without any intention or rationality Bonnie was drawn to Kai the more he let her into his dark world; and even though she knew he wasn't dealing with the same feelings thanks to his ominous lack of deep emotions, the conversation she found herself in now was just a big a revelation if not more. Being the one that Kai could talk to about his past, open up and let her in to see who he is underneath, and feel a bone-chilling but genuine connection towards sounds like the trifecta that would cause Bonnie to set sail overseas, but to her astonishment the claustrophobic anxiety that tended to overcome her during high-pressure moments like these didn't seem to elicit the same effect. In fact, more than anything she felt an overwhelming sensation to not be another to betray and disappoint him and that inner confession had her visibly swaying from a sudden lightheadedness.

"You were wrong," she said casually taking another bite as he looked up from his plate and she shrugged "you said you knew I wasn't going to want to know, but you were wrong."

Kai turned his head a fraction and gave her a skeptical once-over before his smile lit up his eyes, humming before he went back to the last of his breakfast. Bonnie had expected his cheeky grin and narcissistic jabs and she would almost prefer it over the quietness and side glances he was giving her. Finishing the last bite she scooped her plate up along with his and brought them to the sink, turning and leaning back as Kai watched her.

"What do you want to do next?" he pepped standing and stretching in place.

"I'm going to take a shower, wake myself up a little more and then we'll see where we go from there."

"You know I too could use a shower," he purred and she responded with a sweet smile.

"Good for you, then you can use it when I'm done in ten minutes."

"I seem to recall it working out for us pretty well the last time."

"Mhm, and now you have that memory to look back on."

"I preferably enjoy making _new_ memories, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, but that's not what's going to be happening."

"You think you're pushing me away, but it's actually the opposite," he chuckled leaning forward with his hands in his pocket whispering " _I like the chase._ "

A sharp charge shot down her spine at the steely reserve in his dark gaze and his mouth twisted up slowly in one corner, turning and sauntering out the door towards the living room. Blowing out a breath Bonnie pushed off the counter and stormed down the hall, putting together an outfit for the day before heading to the bathroom. The shower was anything but peaceful as she spent the majority of it in a heightened sense of awareness and caught herself glancing over her shoulder waiting for the curtain to swing open. Changing into an outfit Caroline picked out she pulled up the metallic black jeans with matching laces up the sides to her knees exposing her skin, and a white tank top with elegant lace across the bust.

Heading back to her room she checked her reflection quickly and noticed the two dark marks still displayed on her skin for the rest of the world to see. As an idea sprung to mind she grabbed the Bennett Grimoire and rummaged through looking for something in particular and landed on a quick-fix healing smell against minor injuries and figured this would fall under that category. Placing the palm of her hand over the darker of the two hickeys on her neck she repeated the two lines a few times over until she felt a pinch and lifted her hand to an unmarked neck, saying it once more for the spot on her collarbone.

Grabbing a pair of short black boots with a zipper on the inside she carried them in one hand and reached for her leather jacket that matched her boots – the overall appearance looking far different from her comfortable wear she's been in for the last year. Bonnie made her way into the living first and looked out the front window taking in the cloudy day and smiled at the sky hoping for rain. A beautiful summer day in May is wonderful weather to be trapped in but she missed the small moments of tranquility like a cozy rainy day.

Kai's heavy footsteps barreled down the stairs and she turned back raising an approving eyebrow at his current style outfit of dark grey jeans, a white t-shirt and a black zip up hoodie with leather sleeves. His pendant hung above his jacket and he wore the same black boots from the other night, the smile itching to spread across her face as his whistle brought her eye-line back to his.

"I am definitely on board with these new outfits, first that dress and now these jeans," he shook his head, "I know I said it before but you are a _danger_ to my health."

Licking her lips Bonnie smiled ruefully and noticed his jaw clench, looking over to the couch before inspecting her from the feet up and rocked on his heels. Roaming over his body as well she was pleasantly surprised that the style of this generation was helping Kai's baby face look the part of a 22 year old, even if it was still almost twenty years behind his mental age.

"You might turn a couple heads yourself now that you don't dress like you're sixteen," she said in nonchalance triggering his hearty laugh as he strolled towards her.

"Bonnie Bennett, was that a compliment?"

"They do tend to slip out from time to time," she shrugged as he slowly invaded her personal space "so I was going to suggest we go out for a couple hours before going to the hospital but it looks like it might rain."

"I love the rain! Josette and I always used to have water fights and catch a cold from being outside for too long; always worth it. Where were you thinking of going on this gloomy day?"

"I was kind of a little curious to see how my quaint little getaway looks like, I don't remember coming across it any of the times I wandered around the Salvatore's backyard with Elena."

"Oh you're little archway oasis?" he smirked and ran his hand up her bare arm "might be a little cold."

"That's what coats are for," she said in an obvious tone, walking past him and grabbing hers resting over the back of the couch throwing it on.

"And a leather jacket to match? Really Bon, you're pressing your luck."

"We'll be around other people soon enough."

"You should know they can't protect you from me," he winked in a dark undertone that made her mouth dry, scoffing and sitting down to zip up her boots.

"I can handle you all on my own just fine," she reminded going past him to the front door as he pulled her in by the waist bringing his face within inches of hers.

"You sure about that?"

"Very _,_ " she retorted stubbornly hoping it would cause him to back down but it just seemed to add incentive.

" _So handle me_ ," he whispered and Bonnie heard her breath catch, swaying a fraction away from his lips before gaining her resolve and stood her ground pressing her chest against his.

" _I am."_

"Hmm," Kai hummed staring at her lips before his alluring gaze sliced into hers, "you're intriguing. I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into because like I told you before, I get proprietorial over the things I want."

"And you think you can get me?" she said with a lightness in her demeanor finding humor at the thought that quickly diminished when his eyes clouded a shade darker and licked his lips.

Kai's head tilted and she felt his lips just barely touching her skin as he trailed across her jaw back to her ear rasping out a ' _yes'_ that sent a wave of goosebumps down her neck. Bonnie closed her eyes at the pleasing sensation coursing through her body and opened them slowly to Kai watching her. With a shake of her head Bonnie took a step back to pull herself out of the moment, turning to swipe the keys off the hook before opening the door and looking at him over her shoulder.

"No need to check, I'm right behind you," he remarked and was quickly on her heels as she headed for her Gram's car.


	6. Chapter 6

The clock on the dash read 10:18AM as Kai aimlessly flipped through the radio stations, getting more disappointed with the entertainment industry and their lack of vocalized talent across every genre.

"I'm disgraced with what I'm hearing right now; Nirvana, Tupac and Biggie, Michael Jackson – these are just a couple of artists that set the bar for their entire genre of music. Not these peppy repetitive or wannabe gangsta angles they're trying to make work. Do you like this tune that's making my ears bleed?"

"No," Bonnie laughed stopping at a red light "I don't like half of the stuff they're coming out with, but it's not all bad the radio is just a terrible choice to try and find good music. I would always sync up my phone and play Pandora, or pick a playlist on my iPod."

"Your what?"

"It's similar to a CD player but you can download all the different songs and artists you like onto it and listen to them simultaneously."

"That sounds sweet I have got to get me one of those," Kai nodded in approval imagining how much better his days in his eternal Hell would have been if he had all of his favorite CD's neatly compiled into one listening device.

"Mine is probably still in my room, maybe with the phone that has to be shut off by this point but we can stop there first and I'll run in."

Within five minutes they were pulling up to a house that must be Bonnie's childhood home by the sour expression she was giving it.

"Reminiscing?" he questioned to shake her from her daydream and she smiled briefly before hopping out of the car and darting inside, making it back in record time.

"I don't know where that phone could be," she huffed tossing the small purple rectangular object in his lap.

" _This_ tiny thing is what holds all of the music?" he said unconvinced.

"Size isn't everything," she teased and Kai let out a gust of laughter at her inaccuracy as she rolled her eyes and chuckled along "just plug this cord in where the spot for the lighter is since it's been dead for almost a year. Spin your finger around the circle to go up and down and press the middle button to click on them."

Completely absorbed in this new invention Kai was equally impressed with the music selection Bonnie had stored; a wide variety not only of artists and genres but of the styles throughout the decades.

"I mean you have singers as far back as _Sinatra_ all the way up to this poppy nonsense we were just listening to – that's trippy. And you managed to get all the key players from each generation."

"I _love_ music; it doesn't matter what I'm listening to whether it be instrumental, acapella, or a specific genre just the act of hearing it puts me in a better mood."

"Couldn't agree more," he smiled continuously roaming through her selection until they pulled up to a wrought iron-gate. "Well this is unpromising."

"The Salvatore's house isn't that far from the cemetery, figured we could just cut through here."

"Didn't want to risk the chance of running into your boo?" he said with a wiggle of his brow stepping out of the car.

"Actually that was one of the reasons, yeah," she smirked and he heard his jaw tick to the side "but this is also a pretty fast shortcut."

"Are we in Mystic Falls?"

"No, the town switches halfway through then it's about ten minutes from there."

"Okay, let's do it," he huffed and stretched his arms over his head preparing himself for what'll feel like a long walk that he is not up for, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Here," she handed him a mini plastic black boom-box and a wide grin broke out across his face.

"Okay, this has to be the coolest thing I've seen in this generation so far, but how-" he wondered spinning around the little plastic object.

Bonnie laughed and pulled out a cord from the back, plugging it into a spot on the bottom of the iPod and clicking buttons until music blared out of the two speakers.

"You don't even need headphones?"

"It's the little things," she agreed and dropped them both in his hands, turning and starting off into the dank and dreary graveyard.

They had been walking for five minutes and Kai must have changed the song a dozen times, getting equally enthused with each new discovery and he had to admit it was doing an excellent job at distracting him from his aching body and tired legs. Shockingly enough Bonnie didn't argue with him over his short attention span, instead commenting on how she felt about the song or memories it triggered and failed miserably at keeping a straight face when he serenaded her.

"If I tell you something do you promise not to let your ego run away with you?"

"Oh don't be silly, I can't promise anything like that," looking over at her rue smile as she looked forward "but do tell."

Bonnie hummed in contemplation and gave him a once over before earning an endearing smile "you have a nice singing voice."

"Do I? I've never heard that before. But I have listened to myself over the years and learned to perfect my harmonizing skills so it does make sense."

"And that's just the type of answer I expected," she nodded dismissively.

"You know me well – don't fight it, embrace it. And thank you, but that does stick out to me being the second compliment you've given me in one day which is two more than I've received in… almost ten months, give or take."

"Slight exaggeration," she added.

"Which although makes me feel great also puts me on edge like you're buttering me up."

"For what?"

"Perhaps this is a ploy to seduce and have your way with me just to double-cross me after."

"I need to come up with a rouse to get you in bed?"

Bonnie's bold side-glance had him chuckling at her candor "okay maybe just the latter."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a little cynical?"

"The reference does ring a bell."

"If I was in this for myself I would have left you back in 1994, Kai."

"I know that."

"Then what?"

"I also know what Damon said to you last night about distancing yourself and getting caught in the middle of all this."

"I won't."

Kai's tired mind played through different scenarios of Bonnie get pulled into the darkest parts of this long awaited vendetta because of his father, her friends, and even himself. One way or another she was going to have to pick a side and the longer he was here the clearer it was the one's she came back for are on team Joshua and associating with Kai was drawing a line in the sand that they'll retaliate against. He is already certain his father was conjuring up something for the Bennett witch that helped break out the abomination he tried so desperately to keep locked away and it was bothering him more than he had anticipated; not only unable to shake it but fairly confident it was getting under his skin deeper and irritating him more each and every day.

"Being cynical makes me more aware of all the secrets, deception and destruction that the world and _people_ are really capable of. I'm cursed with the good fortune of seeing things for what they are without unnecessary amplified emotions swaying my opinion from what was obviously free of error. I feel like once you start getting emotionally invested and making decisions based off what's best suited for the group over the one is where things turn fatal and start clashing. Someone is always going to draw the short straw and get screwed – such is life – but a simple fix to steer clear of that is to never draw a straw and come to your own conclusion instead."

"You're just saying this because my ' _group'_ is coming to take out your ' _one_ '," she emphasized using air quotes.

"Yeah that really drives my point home doesn't it?" he laughed "but I'm talking about the big picture not just the current predicament we're in. You told me last night you wanted to deal with the repercussions of whatever choices you made and from experience, having a different outlook than the ones you surround yourself with is a tough thing to cope with. Sticking to your guns might have you lose a couple people along the way but you'll be happier in the end."

"Why?"

"Because you wouldn't have been doing things for other people's benefit and being miserable over it."

"Who says I'm miserable?"

Kai stopped walking and she tripped over a step before turning to look back at him "can you honestly tell me every decision you made because of someone else never came back on you negatively? Affecting your magic, or health, or state of mind?"

Bonnie stared at him seemingly taken back by the question if her mouth agape coming up short on words was any indication. She crossed her arms in a defensive pose and gripped them tighter as a cool breeze blew in between them, Kai questioning if it was just the weather or if Bonnie's heightened state had anything to do with it.

"You can't," he smiled putting her out of her misery "because you're thinking about all the times that helping your friends has ended with you being the one that suffers. I know you've died for these people – which no offense is one of the most certifiable things I've ever heard, and I have a pretty strong inkling that if you're put into that scenario again it's going to be the same outcome but you can't. My dad will find your weak point and exploit it."

"Caring about the people I love is _not_ a weakness."

"It is in war and that's what this is to him," he persuaded "a crusade of him against me where everyone else is up for grabs. If I have to go through my coven to get to him I will, and the people in these towns is collateral damage to him. He is a meticulous man who has a fascination with order and control; he _will_ get inside your head given the opportunity."

"I don't plan on giving him one; why are you saying all of this?"

"Doesn't matter, he'll find a way" he said through his teeth and could feel his heart thudding painfully inside his rib cage "and I want you to make your own decisions too. In fact I happen to _like_ what you come up with even when it is at my expense."

"Careful Kai," she teased and took a step towards him whispering softly "you almost sound like you care about another person."

"And we know what happens then," he smirked and felt a rush of uneasiness hit him, his vision swaying slightly and taking a few steps to balance "we've been walking for a while we must be getting close."

"Yeah it's right through this clearing; if you didn't stop all dramatically we would have been there by now."

"But I love the flare for the over the top reactions, makes it all worthwhile."

"You definitely keep people on their toes," she agreed and within minutes they were walking down the steps to the archway encased in flowers, finding a dreary scene instead. "What happened?"

Kai looked around at all the pots filled with soil and dead plants overhead, taking in the rest of the scenery of overgrown vines and dwindled remnants of life. "Looks like the plants died, I imagine vampires aren't very good at attending to life and taking care of it; it probably got like this whenever the last actual human lived here."

"That would be about six years ago then."

"Let me guess, right when Damon strolled into town?"

"Yeah, his uncle nephew Zach."

"His what?" he burst into laughter "his… oh that's a good one, just a typical ' _vampire issue'_ I'm sure. Well you can thank your good pal Damon for destroying your happy place."

Bonnie walked farther into the archway of flowers, deflating with each step until she leaned against one of the sides and sighed. Looking overhead through the now open spaces she took in the cloudy skies and slid down the side landing in a ball with her knees to her chest.

"Well look at you all mopey, missing something from our temporary time away."

"Don't remind me," she groaned dropping her forehead to her knee as he felt his laugh rumble in his chest.

"I bet there are a couple of _other_ things you miss happening too," he goaded sitting down beside her and resting his arm on one knee, "I know I do."

Bonnie tilted her head on her knee and gave him her most lethal stare, Kai's bright smile only giving her even more encouragement.

"Oh you know what I mean; that gratifying, heart-pounding, insatiable thing we both enjoyed?"

Bonnie stared at him with a blank expression for at least ten seconds before her head popped up off her knee " _oh,_ you must mean showing off your fine culinary skills – which I do enjoy, that's the only thing that comes to mind. Feel free to make Thanksgiving dinner when we get back my heart is pounding just thinking about it."

"Mm," Kai pondered looking her over "I was thinking more of Thanksgiving dessert."

Catching her widened eyes momentarily at his abrasiveness she gazed back up as thunder rumbled across the sky. His view trailed down her body since she wasn't paying attention and noticed her movements were restless and fingers were fidgeting.

"You being all shy over a topic that you were acting the polar opposite in is adorable, I must say," he remarked amused "but why the nervousness? It's just us; you don't have to get all high and mighty without your friends around."

"I don't do that," she snapped looking back at him "and I'm not acting any differently."

Kai couldn't help but chuckle at her ignorance "I don't know if I've told you this before but I'm pretty decent at reading people – I excel at it really, and I've been around you long enough to pick up on a few things. I couldn't tell you what goes on in that haywire mind of yours pulling you this way and that like a tug-of-war, but I am well-informed on what you feel… ironically."

"Thank you Dr. Phil, but your own self-absorbed opinion isn't always right."

"Oh really? Well let's think back through all the major moments in my life and how scary _accurate_ my opinion was before said turn of event," he paused for dramatic effect "wow, no wonder my self-confidence is so high."

"Keep it up and your big head will carry you away."

"At least I'll go happy," he concluded "because I know I'm right about this. Although I'm starting to question how aware of it you are and what you're choosing not to tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Oh, there's plenty – like why are you being so vague, what is your plan, _why are you fighting this?_ " Bonnie's eyes sobered at the last question before flashing to irritated.

"How many times-"

"I'm not referring to the ' _because of my friends'_ or ' _you're a jerk'_ excuses that you think I believe; I'm talking about what made you jump out of your seat and run when I asked the same thing on Thanksgiving."

"Lot of good that did me," she murmured kicking the heel of her boot into the grass.

"I seem to recall there being a ' _lot of good'_ done to the both of us but that's a whole other topic. I'm curious; I've actually wondered it at least once a day because there was something. Some thought pinged in your brain and shot you straight up like a rocket but you didn't look afraid – and you certainly weren't pleased – so what's the real reason?"

Avoiding eye contact Bonnie distracted herself momentarily finding a new song, quickly checking to see if he was still watching her and he clenched down forcing himself to give her more time before he wheedled the truth out of her. His eyes stayed on her as he watched her fall deeper into her thought bubble, hoping this revelation would come with a vocal confession but he had to give her credit on her commitment to keep as much stuff swarming inside her mind as possible. Being such an outspoken individual Kai had always had trouble keeping things to himself and could talk people's ears off for hours; a large factor in why he got along with the uneducated imbecile's that surrounded him.

"Not sure what type of answer you're hoping to get here because I don't have one that you'll want to hear."

"So there's more than one reason?"

"I think there's just about _every_ reason."

"And yet, here we are," he said with a wave of his hand dissecting her expression and her guard faltered, letting him see her scared vulnerable eyes behind it. "You're thinking of something specific, what is it?"

"I'm thinking of a lot of things."

"What is it?" he repeated knowing there was a core reason underneath the rubble of superficial justifications.

"Kai-"

"Tell me."

"No," she let slip and looked over at him sharply, her steely reserve unwavering as he shook his head in confusion.

" _Why?_ "

"Because I don't feel like setting off the dynamite to that conversation right now. You know how it goes; I say something, you disagree, we both argue our points and it turns into this whole thing."

"And it generally ends with you realizing I'm right; where is bad with any of that?"

"I don't want to fight," she huffed and dropped her chin on her knee, the defensive pose making her appear small and fragile.

"I don't see it as fighting, more of affectionate bickering – it's a necessary evil with us. Another evil act is knowing things and not sharing, that one cuts me deep."

"Oh does it?"

"Absolutely, I mean after all I tell _you things_ when you ask and I know the answer, I don't think about my own personal thoughts on the matter first."

"Yeah well that's pretty much my entire thought process and if the scene in my head doesn't play out how I'd want, the real thing would be just as unpromising. "

"How do you know if you don't let it happen and see? I could have a different reaction than the version of me in your head – which by the way I like that there's a version of me in your head," he finished with a wiggle of his brow.

"He frustrates me just as much as you, I assure you," she said with a dryness to her tone but it didn't shake the surge of satisfaction it brought him.

"So what does your fantasy of me say to all of this?"

Bonnie's eyes sliced into his inches away at the reference but continued on, "that I'm wrong – how would I know – I'm overthinking things; it's everything I've thought myself but I can't shake what I know is true."

"And what would that be?" he encouraged seeing it was on the tip of her tongue wanting to spill through her lips "why are you really pushing me away?"

Kai watched Bonnie almost say the words then looked like a wave washed over her and forcibly clench her jaw shut, turning her head away completely and letting out a deep breath. Dropping his head back to clank against the archway fence he watched the gray and black clouds roll in and listened as the sky was alive with noise. Kai couldn't help but smirk at the parallel of life imitating nature, sensing that the storm brewing was about to set off a whirlwind and cause an uproar; seemingly fitting against his vendetta against his father and current situation he's found himself in with Bonnie.

"Whatever you're thinking about me, ' _fantasy me_ ' is saying you're wrong so maybe you should listen to him."

"Not likely."

"Then give me the chance, come on – take your best shot," adding when she wouldn't turn back towards him, "I'm not going to let this go, I'm too close to finding it out; put yourself out of misery."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," she nodded and pushed herself up, Kai quickly following her movements hovering close.

"But yours wasn't too thought out, seeing how you have to get past me to leave."

"You don't know how _un_ intimidating that sounds right now."

"Oh I'll still get the job done," he said as Bonnie stepped sideways trying to move around him, lifting his arm to cage her into the side of the archway and leaning in close. "Can you tell me one honest thought that's running through your head? No gimmicks, I'll keep my witty remarks to a minimum; five seconds of spilling your soul."

Leaning back farther into the fence Bonnie's expression reminded him of that term ' _a deer in headlights_ ' as her hard exterior wavered and saw the panicked girl underneath as her eyes darted between his looking momentarily stunned. Kai was still genuinely dumbfounded at the concept of thinking and feeling a certain way about a person, being around that person who happens to be discussing that topic… and not saying what's on your mind. It seems that all Kai has ever done is brainstorm and deliberate and watch his mental course of action unfold, and has always been the type of person that has to get things off their chest before he implodes from all the information swarming around. In some way unfathomable to him, Bonnie does the exact opposite; letting you in on the base level of things that she can part with but harboring all of the monumental information that act as little detonators blowing away people's perceptions.

"I like you," she let out in a half-whisper, his head dropping a fraction lower to hear her better as her gaze lifted and met his "but I don't want to like you so much."

Pursing his lips Kai debated if he should feel good that she's still verbally admitting to liking him, or bad that she _doesn't_ want to like him… _so much_ he reminded himself with a grin. He quickly discredited this being Bonnie's secret for why she's acting this way since his response wouldn't have been something around ' _you're wrong'._ Teetering between the high and low emotions that didn't seem to be cutting it he went for what he was truly feeling; satisfaction. Wrapping his fingers through the metal fence he closed in just enough that he could feel her adrenaline pulsing on whether to push him away or throw herself into him.

"I like how much you like me," Kai kept his voice equally soft that inevitably made his sarcastic under-bite momentarily disappear, hovering close to her face "it's one of my favorite things about you."

"What – my inability to run from danger?"

"More like your _attraction_ to the danger but no, I meant your intuition; the way you can see straight through the semantics to the person underneath. Your dominant personality doesn't let other opinions interfere with what you believe but you still take the time to listen to everyone – it's pretty rare."

"Yeah I'm unique alright," Bonnie brushed off looking at his arms and he knew she was right about that.

"Indeed, and what's equally one-of-a-kind is the way your mind works when it comes to you and I. I know in my teenage years I didn't have a lot of girlfriends so I don't totally understand the logistics of all that _but_ I do know that Gabby told me she liked me, and that she wanted to get closer to me so we dated. But with you; you don't like me, then you might like me, then you fight the fact that you do like me and do everything in your power to deny what's going on. You can sleep with me, and then act like it's never going to happen again. Or act one way which is so very translucent when we're alone to someone else when we're not. How am I the one that has difficulties in relationships – do you see the circles you're going in? I could make you a diagram but you can imagine what a mess it'll look like on paper."

"I'm not trying to be all over the place," she huffed and he could see her mind working a mile a minute absorbing what he's saying and figuring out how to respond, "but with you everything is so confusing. When I'm with you I feel like we can talk about anything, and the more you open up the more drawn in I seem to be and I get swept away in the moment going with whatever I'm feeling. But when I can take a minute to step away and clear my head the facts start filling it right back up and everything outside of our prison world bubble comes crashing back down."

"Why can't you balance the two?"

"Because they completely contradict each other; one is telling me to give in while the other is booking a plane ticket out of here. I can't be with you and do what I'm supposed to do at the same time."

"I think you're underestimating your commitment to finding the middle ground of what you really want and need in your life; or maybe you're afraid to see what you'll discover."

"Being afraid and knowing the unavoidable blowouts it'll cause are two very different things."

"Not really," he shrugged "hey wait – you're wrong about this; is this your secret?"

"No," she laughed and he felt his assurance slightly waver tightening his hold.

"Just tell me Bonnie it can't be that bad," he said levelheaded; a contrast from the irritation of not being able to figure it out on his own.

"I would love to talk about anything else right now," she smiled innocently setting off the opposite effect in him.

"We can talk about whatever you want after you answer."

"Kai-"she sighed.

"Bonnie," he cut her off with a commanding bite and felt his chest pang sharply through his rib cage; his raising heartbeat setting off a painful effect in his body "I could do this all day but I'd rather not waste our time going back and forth when in the end you are still going to tell me what's on your mind so I can let you know how delusional you are. Just… get it off your chest."

" _You_ are currently on my chest," she reminded him pressing forward for added effect. Kai hummed and trailed his bottom lip down the side of her cheek triggering her hand to shoot out against his stomach. "If I'm going to be telling you anything it's not when you have me pinned to the side of the archway."

"But you love when I have you pressed up against something; a wall, the bed, _me;_ it's all very taboo." Bonnie ignored his words and put pressure against his chest until he pushed off the fence taking a step back, "okay, you have your personal space; enlighten me."

Kai watched a shift overcome Bonnie as her posture shifted looking exposed; shoving her hands into her back pockets and bouncing on the heels of her feet displaying the look of a person giving themselves a pep talk.

"You're not going to let this go, and I'm not going to agree with you; I don't see the point of us having this conversation."

"Because you've seen how it plays out in your head and I'd like to see how the reality of it unfolds."

"It'll be the same."

"You never know."

"I do."

"Bonnie."

"Kai."

"Say it!" he bellowed.

" _I don't trust you!"_ she roared back with equal vigor as her chest rose and fell rapidly "I don't trust your judgement and what course of action you'll take, not to mention the disregard you have for any ordinary life, and how far you're willing to go without any feelings of remorse or regret over it. I can't trust _myself_ with you because I'll get too close… I already am, and I can't let it escalate any farther."

"Why not?" he urged letting her get it all out but _knowing_ he was almost at the full truth.

"Because," she said with a kick of her boot and spun on her feel so she was facing the opposite direction "because what you feel isn't real."

"What…" he said after half a minute of thinking about what she could have meant, "What I feel? About you?"

Bonnie's head hung momentarily before lifting it to stare straight ahead and crossed her arms; a clear indication she would rather be anywhere else.

"I can read your body language just fine but we _are_ having this conversation," he commented walking around her, "so tell me; what do you mean?"

"Have you ever Googled characteristics of a sociopath? Probably not since you weren't around when Google was created but I did a few years ago when my two best friends both started dating the new brothers in town and thought Caroline's choice gave me a serial killer vibe."

"Caroline dated Damon?"

"For about a week, but there was something definitely off about him so I went on a research spree and discovered a lot of valuable information. Information that I've been thinking about a lot over the past year – specifically within the last three months that revolved around being in a relationship." Pausing briefly she gave Kai the moment to step in but he stayed silent, raising his eyebrows for her to continue and she blew out a harsh breath in response staring him down. "You can't feel any deep-rooted emotions towards others; you don't make connections with people in general resulting in your go-to casual unconcerned manner. There's a limited range of how far your emotional spectrum can go, if love is on the left and hate is on the right then your speedometer needle broke during your path for vengeance. From what I read you do _feel_ things but… it's like a diluted version of the real thing and it's just – it's not enough."

Kai stood there staring straight through her, his blank expression a contrast against the confusion and irritation he had coursing through his system. This isn't the first time Bonnie has brought up her fears that what he feels and how he acts isn't real but he didn't realize it had such a hold on her to the point of being her breaking point. Kai wasn't sure what he felt; or how a non-witch who hasn't been locked in solitary away from human contact for the last eighteen years would act when he wants to spend time with a girl, but he figured he wasn't too far off. What really seemed to irk him was the fact that she had all of these discussions and the final conclusion in her head before hearing his side – the one who is said ' _sociopath'_ – of the story.

"Wow, how you manage to know what I feel when _I_ don't even know and you don't think to ask is astounding, really. It almost impresses me that you had this entire trial and verdict in your head without any outside assistance when you so obviously know all of the facts. But let me just remind you of some other facts; when I saved your ass yesterday, when I gave you magic to be able to come back home," Kai stepped closer and felt a familiar eerie calm settle over him, "and let's not forget about all of the times I had the opportunity to kill you and save myself but chose repeatedly to let you live."

"What a guy," she intervened.

"Seeing how at the time we were deemed enemies and you were trying every other day to kill me I'd say _yes_ I was quite the catch to keep trying to get us out of there together. I wanted you to come back with me because I want to keep being around you; how is that any different from what you feel?"

"When you're with me, what do you feel?"

"Pretty content for the most part, except when you're getting on my nerves."

"And when I'm not around?"

Kai shrugged at the question, not sure what kind of answer would suffice when he didn't feel any strong pull one way or another, "I don't know, we've been together a lot lately wouldn't you say?"

Shaking her head once and taking a step back, a loud crack of thunder followed by bright lightning bolts overhead pulled their attention to the rapidly progressing weather.

"Okay, maybe we should move this conversation out of the metal death-trap," he suggested putting his hand on her back and urging her out.

"We should probably head back I have to meet up with Care soon."

"I still want to talk about this."

" _There's nothing to talk about,_ " she said with finality but it didn't shake his concentration.

"The hell there isn't Bon because you knew I would say that you are wrong – which you are – and ' _how would you know'_ , which - _again_ ," he said with a nod and wave of his hand, "but you knew I'd say it because I don't believe that what you're saying is true. And since we are talking about me and my whole internal mixed cocktail then _why_ won't you take my word on it?"

"Because what we feel isn't the same," she said in a flat tone giving him one last look before heading back through the woods.

"How?" he wondered as she ignored him and kept up her pace "what's so different?"

Refusing to answer her short legs moved twice as fast as his making his heart work overtime to keep up. Grinding his teeth together he felt a sharp pain behind his eyes as a headache spread through his skull shifting his mood. The blend of his chest aching and head pounding left him feeling slightly on edge – to put it mildly, as his aggravation over the topic at hand continued to build.

"Come on you've already gotten past the hard part, we are _in_ mid-disagreement why not just finish strong?"

"I'm not saying that you don't feel _something_ for me Kai, it's just-"

"You think you feel something else; what is it?"

"Just... more; heightened, crazier, unprovoked emotions that can make me feel like I'm losing my mind. You're in calm shallow waters where everything rolls off your shoulders and I am drowning, much like how we are about to be in this thunderstorm. You know what I'm talking about Kai," she stopped and locked eyes "this was the problem you had with Gabriela – you couldn't make that intimate deep connection that she wanted."

"Two totally different issues," he grinned slyly through his displeasure and took a step forward "Gabby and me couldn't get close because I could never tell her who I really was so there was always that wall separating us; it wasn't my defective display of emotions, although that was the runner-up."

"Well it seems like your incompetence in the emotional department is rearing its ugly head once again."

"That's the only thing you'll be able to find on me that's inadequate, but I'm learning as I go – wouldn't you say?"

A long rumble followed by a downpour of rain broke both of their focuses as they threw their hoods over their head and booked it into the graveyard. They had gotten about halfway through when Kai tripped over a vine sticking out of the ground and lost his balance; gripping his chest with his right hand as the other was pressed into the ground.

"Kai?" he heard Bonnie's voice crouched down beside him "what's going on?"

"Nothing," he huffed trying to even his breathing and gripped the soil, the slight buzz in his fingertips pulling his attention away from his aching heart.

"Come on, try and get up," she murmured scooping her arm under his armpit to pull him up but he stayed planted in the ground and gripped the soil tighter.

"I feel something," he mumbled through the ringing in his ears, his headache feeling like it was trying to forcibly remove itself from his body.

"I'm not saying you don't," she agreed pulling him up and realized she thought he was talking about his feelings.

"No I mean I really _felt_ something… I think – just now on the ground."

"Like what?" she puffed trying to keep him upright and walking a few steps as his system felt like it was shutting down.

"Magic," he breathed and tried to gently fall back to the ground, landing with a hard thud.

Rolling onto his hands he gripped the soil like he just had and waited for the sizzle to come when the sharpness in his skull brought his fists up to his temples, groaning out in exasperation. White spots started to blind his vision as he leaned forward and locked on, pulling the energy from the source.

"Kai, stop it!" he heard distantly but kept his concentration as his vision and physical state evaded him.

Pulsing waves of magic started to flow into his fingertips through his veins reigniting his body one limb at a time. A loud scream broke through his thoughts and the white light lifted; his line of vision immediately landing on his hands wrapped around Bonnie's wrists in a vise-lock grip. Before he could put together his thoughts to pull his hands away he heard a twig of a branch snap behind him and glanced to Bonnie's panicked eyes feeling a sudden unbearable pressure on his heart.

" _Damon_!" In Bonnie's high shriek was the last thing Kai remembers hearing before everything went black.

-x—x—x—

" _Damon…"_ Bonnie whispered again quietly looking at Kai's slumped body in a heap in front of her.

Rolling him on his back she felt his neck for a pulse and vision involuntarily blurred with tears when she couldn't find one. Looking over his now featureless expression from moments before her instincts took over as she shook his shoulders trying to wake him up, battling against the sob trying to be let loose. Blinking once she watched the two teardrops fall onto Kai's cheek and swatted at her face, rising to her feet in the next breath.

"I told you," she roared beating her hands against Damon's chest pushing him backwards "I told you not to kill him and let me figure it out _and you've done nothing but try to do just that every chance you got._ I said that I could handle him; that I'll find a way around all of this and you immediately turn around and crush his heart!"

Bonnie could have sworn she saw red as her sorrow turned to fury towards the man who always seemed to be on the other end of a bad decision as the rain poured down around them.

"And I told you to stay away from him; I knew you wouldn't listen since he was _already with you_ when I was telling you." Cocking her head to the side momentarily side-tracked she gained her composure and her gaze burned a hole through his face. "Oh you didn't think I knew? I am a vampire after all, we pick up on a few key things like the heartbeat of our next prey – and I could hear one from inside that house when we were on the porch."

"I don't care," she spewed feeling intoxicated on rage "why did you do that?"

"Because he's toxic, and he's got his hooks in you too deep."

"He – what?"

Damon gripped her bicep and pulled her into him "let's go somewhere a little less torrential thunderstorm-y."

Bonnie pushed against him as Damon surrounded her and took off running, his strength an unworthy advantage, thinking a moment too late to ' _motus'_ him away as he stopped in front of her Gram's car.

"Hop in," he smirked and she looked back and forth from him to the car picking up missing pieces of the puzzle.

"How did you know where I was parked? And why were you lurking around in the cemetery? You said you were going to be with Elena this morning… why are you here?"

"Get in the car," he ordered opening the door and she pushed it closed.

"Answer me."

"After you _get_ in the _car_ ," he annunciated and pulled open the passenger door again "you'll catch a cold standing out in this weather."

Gritting her teeth Bonnie elbowed him out of the way and slumped into the car shivering the moment the rain wasn't cascading over her. Damon was beside her in a flash and turned on the engine fidgeting with the dials for the heat.

"Why are you here?"

"Because this is where you decided to go."

"You were following me?"

"After I realized you were harboring an unstable fugitive in your house? Yeah I wanted to make sure there weren't any other hidden surprises…" he cocked his head to the side giving her a pointed stare, "I don't know what happened in the couple months after I left but something is… weird between you two and the sooner I can finally put an end to it the better."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she gritted clenching her fists and feeling her magic buzzing through her veins.

"Come on Bon-Bon look at who you're talking to, we were in that prison world together for four long months before the resident psycho crashed the party. Kai made every pass at you he could conjure up in that demented little mind of his and now you don't seem repulsed by them."

"That's what you're going off of? I listened to nothing but his voice for what seemed like years of course I've gotten used to it, the same way I don't choke back the disgust every time you squint and make that face like you're the most cunning person in the room. I've grown to tolerate a lot of annoying qualities in people throughout the years."

"Why didn't you leave him there?"

Vocally screeching through her teeth in frustration she put her palms over her eyes physically willing the pressure in her head away, "because his father was going to kill him Damon, and call me whatever you want but I couldn't have that on my conscious."

"Why? You planned on leaving him there yourself what would be the difference if his dad handled it?"

"I changed my mind, he – I was taking him with me I had already decided, I was just giving myself a little more time to fully wrap my mind around it."

"Around letting a serial killer out to go off and kill the rest of his family? Yeah Bonster even I would say that's pretty twisted of you, and I've seen you make some rash decisions."

"It's not like that," Bonnie heard her voice say as her head throbbed from the contradicting thoughts battling against each other "he's not looking to go after the coven, he has a long history with his dad that I'm still trying to figure out a way around-"

"And there's that little _Merge ceremony_ coming up where he murders his twin sister."

"I know!" she boomed slamming her palm off the dashboard "just like I'm aware of his little brother and sister trying to beat him to the finish line; there's a whole bunch of different variables flying around."

"That wouldn't be here if you just left with Papa Parker when he gave you the out," Damon pointed out.

"It wasn't that simple," she remarked remembering the conversation she had with Kai's father while he was possessing his body and the feeling that overcame her when she realized she was the only person that could and _would_ help Kai survive.

"Sure it was; you live and Kai stays to deals with the repercussions of not being fully together up there."

"Says the vampire."

"Oh I'm not saying I am either, but at least there's a reason behind my madness – behind all your friends _bloodthirsty_ quirks – he has no excuse he was just born a freak."

Bonnie felt her body warming substantially as her blood pressure rose higher, the terms triggering an unfamiliar pang of anger as painful moments from his memories arose.

"Kai was born _different_ – a witch without the ability to access his magic – I think I would be a little resentful too. He wasn't born a sociopath he was just… his dad broke him. You with your own bitter rivalry against your father falling in love with the thing he despises the most; you can't relate? He was driven to his point of insanity and snapped, doing the worst possible thing imaginable and was trapped in an alternate universe for almost twenty years which might not seem like a long time to you but in reality it's almost my entire life."

"You're sympathizing with him," he groaned with a shake of his head "please don't tell me I'm really seeing this."

"I can see where he's coming from," Bonnie corrected "I spent the last few months getting to know him and learning about why and how he got stuck there."

"You already knew why."

"I knew what he did I didn't know _why_ he did it."

"It makes a difference?"

"Yes… no – I don't know!" she huffed feeling like the air was quickly evaporating from the small space within the vehicle and closed her eyes gripping the door handle trying to steady herself. The feel of the tires skidding underneath her going into reverse jolted her eyes open to laser focus and went to open the locked door. "Damon Kai is still out there!"

"Well aware," he smiled switching gears to drive and pressing to the floor hightailing it out of the area.

"He's gonna wake up," Bonnie blurted trying another tactic to get him to turn around since they were going too fast for her to try and jump out while they were moving. "It's pouring out and he is _going_ to wake up again and be pissed. If we can get him back inside a warm house before that happens then he might not retaliate and destroy everything you love."

"Charming," Damon leered making no attempt to slow down and her eyebrows drew in at the new piece of information she hadn't expected.

"You knew he wouldn't stay dead?" she thought of loud thinking over the discussions they've had since she returned and none brought up the fact that Bonnie had done a resurrection spell on Kai. "How?"

"The kid's like the Houdini of faking his death it wasn't too hard to assume he had a backup plan once he was around future victims."

"Then why did you just kill him – what was the point of all this?" she questioned as her mind went haywire coming up with possible reasons.

"Well I heard you yelling while I watched him siphon away your magic – again – and the thought did run through my mind that maybe you told him to back off and he was retaliating," Bonnie continued to stare out the windshield as he continued "mm, then again that was just wishful thinking seeing how we're long past easily breaking ties, isn't that so?"

Silently pleading the 5th Bonnie had hoped this tactic would work and he would pass over the subject onto his next point which happened more times than not, but on this specific occasion he seemed to take her silence as the answer.

"Oh little witch, I was really hoping Papa Parker wasn't right."

"About what?" she questioned defensively.

"You."

"Yeah well I wouldn't trust his opinion."

"I haven't been, but now I'm seeing it with my own eyes and I'm starting to believe what he's been saying this whole time is actually true."

"You've been talking to him the entire time since you went to Portland?"

"We've kept in touch; he can actually be a pretty upstanding man with his ethical views and unshakeable commitment."

Forcing out a disgusted scoff Bonnie made it a point to look equally displeased with him as she gave him a once-over.

"Joshua's a power hungry head-case, obsessed with the coven whose main goal in life was to destroy Kai's. You should have seen – or heard – what he put Kai through… it was inhumane." Glancing over at Damon she noticed he was shaking his head while still looking out the windshield, "what?"

"You care about him," he said blowing out a breath "I can't believe the old Gemini leader was right. I refused to believe him when he came back enraged that ' _the Bennett witch is protecting Malachai; they've bonded and she cares for him.'_ I told him ' _no way, not the goody two shoes Bennett I know, she's too smart to fall for his tricks'."_

"He wasn't tricking me," she said in a calm even-tone; choosing her words carefully.

"Oh I saw how easily he can influence; you could have been under his spell without even realizing and couldn't snap out of it once you got back."

"He didn't brainwash me or persuade me over to his side of seeing things I just understand him better now."

"Because you care," Damon finished for her groaning in sorrow and craned his neck in her direction "there aren't feelings involved right? Oh please don't tell me you like the new resident serial killer with his humble charm of master manipulator and disregard for anyone other than himself. I thought you were smarter than that."

"Shut up Damon. I'm not going to listen to you lecture me about caring for a twisted son of a bitch when it is not nearly the first time I've lowered my standards and let in someone who seemed undeserving. The day you and Stefan came into my life and started dating my best friends I've done nothing but give the benefit of the doubt and throw out countless chances for redemption. I want to see the best in a person and if I dig deep enough I can, you especially should be able to see where I'm coming from. You started out as a terrifying supernatural vampire – which I didn't even know really existed – that I used to refer to as the evil Salvatore but through the years of getting to know you you've become someone close to me that I care about."

"He's dangerous, Bonnie."

"So is everyone around me, _I_ am dangerous Damon."

"But we are all on the same team – there's no threat here. Kai on the other hand is on the opposing side and will start to infiltrate. How long do you think it will take him to go after Ric to draw out Jo followed by yours truly? Or find the mini-mergers through the recently revived as full blooded meathead Lockwood which is bound to cause the All-American and vampire Barbie to form their own counterattack. You see no matter which way it plays out Kai is going to be using the people you're attached to as bait to kill the one's he's supposed to love and that's where the difference lies."

"I know what different circumstances everyone is in right now, believe me but there has to be another way that no one has thought of yet that doesn't end with everyone dying."

"Well you did let the wolf out of its cage," he reminded.

"So it shouldn't be that difficult for me to tame him either. You have to admit that I am the best chance we have at keeping Kai levelheaded without resorting to mass annihilation."

"You think you can help him?" Damon asked incredulously.

"You think I can't help _everyone?_ " she asked with equal cynicism and he whistled in response.

"Look at you, little miss confident trying to take on the whole world. Why don't you step back for once and let someone else take the reins."

"Like who – Mr. Parker? Kai? _You?_ " Bonnie uttered with a shake of her head "I'm not left with too many stellar options here; everyone has their own personal motive… besides you. Why are you so invested in this?"

"Bonnie Bennett asking me why I am trying to help our friends against the new villain in town – now I have heard it all. You know this all started out because you sacrificed yourself for me and _I_ wanted to repay the favor. I wanted to rescue you from Groundhog day and get you far away from that budding Norman Bates before he successfully killed you and escaped on his own. I'm the one who went and found his father convincing him to go in after you and had a very long chat with him afterwards about why he shouldn't execute you alongside Kai. We may not always agree and cohabitate peacefully together but other than my drinking buddy you're the closest friend I've got; if I need to protect you from one little twerp than that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"You don't have to protect me from Kai," she said through an eye roll.

"Everyone needs safekeeping from Kai _especially_ you."

"Why?"

"Other than the fact that you two seem a little too chummy," he observed giving her a sharp stare, "you also happen to be the single person standing in the middle of a long-time family rivalry making you collateral damage on both ends. Either one of them would dangle you like a fresh piece of ' _magical bait_ ' if it helped them get what they're after."

"And you think using me would be beneficial to Kai?"

"Well let's see; he can siphon your magic, and has a town full of people who will make reckless decisions to ensure the safety of their beloved witch so yes I would say it has ran through his mind on more than one occasion if you're of better use to him as a confidant or a hostage."

Bonnie felt her entire posture stiffen as her gaze sliced into his and he stopped the car turning off the ignition, glancing back through the windshield to see they were outside of Whitmore Hospital. Looking down at her hands fisted in her lap she gritted her teeth at the suspicion that's hovered around the darkest parts of her mind - that her naïve side drew a blind eye to in hopes that the person she's gotten to know in the prison world wouldn't take advantage of her like he's done in the past.

"If you already think that Kai might hurt me then why would you make things worse killing him and pulling me away when _you know_ he's going to be resurrected?"

"Had to be done," he said with a shrug and opened the driver's side door, "I think the rain's starting to ease up."

"What do you mean ' _it had to be done'_?" she mimicked in a deep melodramatic tone.

"I have to leave _some_ things to myself for a surprising dramatist twist, don't I?" he remarked with a quirk up his eyebrow before darting out of the car leaving her alone.

"Hey!" she jumped out running after him slowing when she reached shelter and met him at the entrance "why won't you tell me?"

"Honestly, there's still that chance that you'll go running to Mr. 900-lives and tell him all the dirty details."

"But what would there be to tell? What advantage would you have in killing him - knowing for a fact that you'd be able to take him out the time after that? You would have to assume all that would do is just enrage him with even more incentive to stay alive and come after you. Why…" Bonnie wondered out loud as gears started clicking into place, "unless this wasn't your plan to begin with."

"Oh Bonster, that overburdened brain of yours just doesn't know how to turn itself off. Here let me help," he pushed her through the main double doors and veered her down the hallway, "let's go see if Liz is dressed in her uniform ready to get back on duty."

"Damon did Kai's dad tell you to kill him?"

"Frequently," he agreed.

" _Today,_ " she persisted "were you there today because of him?"

Giving her his go-to squinted cocky grin he didn't respond instead picking up the pace and droning on about Liz and her current increase in health. Trying to pay attention Bonnie couldn't help but let her mind wonder; if Joshua had sent Damon to kill Kai _knowing_ he would come back since his spell didn't work during their escape – what was he really planning against his son?


	7. Chapter 7

Two things ran through Kai's mind as he felt his fingers and toes twitch – a sign he's become well in-tune with that his body is revitalizing and sparking back to life; one: he was freezing, and two: he felt _great._ And not just ' _it's good to be alive'_ great but the more his limbs thawed out from its semi-frozen state the better he felt. Proceeding with caution he opened his eyes to gray clouds and checked his immediate surroundings remembering where he was and taking note that he was now alone.

Lifting off the ground slowly he felt downright giddy that he was able to do so with ease and pressed his luck jumping quickly to his feet; sighing a long exaggerated noise of relief when all of the aches and pains that were rapidly taking over had vanished. Licking his lips Kai scanned the woods and graveyard trying to find his sense of direction and took a few steps to the left, crouching down to grip the dirt and moving back to his right when no shocks of magic came to him.

Dropping to one knee he glided his hand underneath the wet leaves and hummed in gratification at the sizzling contact igniting through his fingertips, leaning back on the nearest headstone and copying his movements with the other hand. Kai's sinister smile swept across his face as the familiar force of pure untamed power coursed through his veins reawakening him like he was on a slow boil feeling that underlying simmer of heat progressing. Pushing his fingertips into the dirt the electric current shot out of the ground and up his arms; spreading throughout his chest and back as he rested his head and closed his eyes. Absorbing the shocks of magic he sat there for minutes draining every last drop from the Earth as the wind picked up around him until he could feel the static charge practically oozing out of him.

Feeling like he was levitating Kai stood tall and set off in the direction back towards the archway to the Salvatore house. Within minutes he found himself standing on the porch in front of a locked door, murmuring ' _recludam'_ and hearing the click of the door unlocking. Turning the knob he hummed in delight as he pushed the door wide open, strolling in casually and checking the areas within sight for any sign of life. He took off down the hallway making his way to the best part of the house; Damon's bathroom, and strolled into the room he has considered his own for almost two decades.

Finding the bathroom empty and awaiting his arrival Kai peeled off the wet clothes and left them in a pile on the floor, turning the shower dial and grateful that there was no waiting period before the hot water came steaming out. Kai's entire body relaxed as the heat scalded his back massaging his formerly achy muscles and rested his hand on the glass to his right, a chuckle slipping out as his most recent memories in this very shower started coming to the surface. Kai closed his eyes and breathed out deeply picturing Bonnie on her knees in front of him; her noises and gentle touches spurring something within him that exerted its way out physically leaving cracks all along the glass. He dropped his head lower and flexed his fingers on the now steam-encased glass recalling the moment he flipped the switch from ' _I don't want to hurt her'_ to _'that's a risk I'm willing to take'_ when he rocked into Bonnie too forcefully and instead of pushing him away she made it even more gratifying for him. Kai was pretty certain in that moment he'd do whatever Bonnie asked of him as long as that was his reward, but damned if he'd let her boastful mind know that.

Grabbing the body wash he ran his hands over his stomach and chest imagining Bonnie touching him instead; her tentative caresses mirroring the same look of insecurity and bashfulness when she couldn't look up at him. He'd decided that it may just be his favorite side of her since she shows it so rarely and seems to be something she only does with him the closer they've become. Blowing out a loud breath Kai scanned the rest of the small quarters hearing Bonnie's gasps and moaning his name provoking his own rough sounds as they echoed off the walls until one shattered under pressure. Bonnie's palm slamming against it may have been what did it in but Kai was positive he was the one that put every crack in that glass along the way.

With his parting thought that it will definitely _not_ be the last time he gets Bonnie in this shower he turned off the dial stepped out drying himself off and wrapping the towel around his waist. Strolling back into the room whistling he dug through Damon's drawers noting his simplistic wardrobe of all black and grabbed a thermal long sleeve and matching jeans. He pondered how Damon squeezed himself into these since they fit Kai comfortably but then remembered this generation has the nasty habit of wearing clothes two sizes too small, and he was now doomed to be grouped into that fad as well.

Scooping the wet clothes off the bathroom floor he made his way through the house to the washer and dryer room – not so secretly anticipating Jeremy turning the corner and walking into him – and tossed everything into the dryer. Making his way back towards the front door he contemplated how he was going to get even with Damon for his unthoughtful and disorganized mess of a plan he executed to try and get rid of him. Damon should know better than most that Kai is difficult to kill and has proven to have a bit of a temper when it comes to self-preservation, making the whole execution stick out to him as suspicious. Nevertheless Kai was going to have to even out the playing field and needed to find a happy medium that didn't send Bonnie after him with a pitchfork.

Opening the front door his eye-line landed on with Damon's Camaro, a sly smile creeping out of the corner of his mouth as he stepped back to the key-rack and grabbed his set off the hook; knowing at least what destination he was heading in as he continued to play through different scenarios he could enact. As much as killing Damon made sense to him – and eye for an eye – he had a gut feeling that Bonnie wouldn't be too fond of him anymore if he took out her vampire accomplice that's old enough to be her Great-Great- _Great_ ancestor. Kai's kick-ass and unexpected secret weapon of a mega-Travelor's spell was surely something he would have to use to his advantage in this scenario, and he could list the ways of torture off on his fingers to make Damon feel how much having your heart squeezed to the point of death _sucks._

Before he had come up with a set plan he found himself at Whitmore Hospital thanks to all the giant blue ' _H_ ' signs leading him here. The clock on the dash read 5:37PM meaning if they were still here they would have already been for almost four hours, and he seriously doubted Damon could stay anywhere for that amount of time if it didn't benefit him in some way. Kai can vaguely recall Bonnie's blonde friend saying her mom was on the floor above the one they were on that day and headed off up the stairs in that general destination. Reaching the floor he started wandering from door to door peeking inside and making it down almost a full hallway before he decided he needed a plan B and stopped in front of a pretty brunette in her 30s.

"Hi," he grinned leaning on the counter to be eye level with her, "I need your help."

"Of course, what do you need?"

"It seems I've gotten myself a bit turned around in here, I'm with a couple of friends visiting one of their moms and can't seem to find the room. I'm not sure what her name is but her daughter's name is Caroline, my age…'ish, bubbly and blonde and most likely has talked your ear off at least once today."

"Sherriff Forbe's daughter, I know her well," she laughed "They were here for a while but Miss Forbe's wasn't feeling well so they left about twenty minutes ago."

"Figures," he nodded, wondering if Bonnie went back to Sheila's or if she was still with Damon and Caroline, "maybe you can help me with something else then. Do you know Doctor Josette Parker?"

"Josette Parker?" she repeated, "No, I don't think anyone works here by that name."

"Oh she works here; she probably goes by Jo now."

"Oh, Jo!" she chimed with recognition "you mean Jo Laughlin."

"Laughlin?" he cocked one ear closer making sure he heard his mother's maiden name correctly and laughed when she gave him a mystified expression, "I absolutely mean Jo Laughlin, I forgot she changed her name back after the divorce."

"I didn't know she was married," she said wide eyed leaning in closer.

"She doesn't like to brag," he shrugged.

"Are you her son?"

Kai's brows rose at the unsettling feeling that washed over him at the alternate universe he was now living in where that statement could seem logical.

"That would be an overwhelming no. Me and Jo, related?" he shivered like he tasted something foul and smiled, her laughter sounding light "just good friends, used to be better – I was actually hoping to get back in touch with her and see if we could reconnect."

"Oh, how sweet," she remarked starry-eyed and Kai mimicked her expression seeing a hint of something as he pressed forward.

"It would be sweeter if I could actually _find_ her," he chuckled "I just got back into town and know this is where she worked so I've stopped by a couple times but I must just be missing her."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her for a couple of days I think she may have called in sick for the week."

"Well what are the odds," he threw out with an exaggerated wave of his arm, "I finally have the time to come visit her and I've spent most of my trip walking in circles not able to find her. I know this is probably not something you could do for just _anybody_ but, is there any way you could give me her address?"

"That's a good one," she remarked with a lick of her lips and crossed her arms leaning back, the smile in the corner of her mouth fighting to stay hidden.

"Oh I know, I could be some stalker or serial killer whose soul mission in life is to hunt her down… but do I look like the type?" he leaned off the counter and spread his arms wide accentuating his deceptive outer appearance, "I've known Josette almost my entire life, not counting these last few years that is and I just, you know – miss her, want to see how she's doing."

The receptionist looked him over, her sympathetic expression showing she's feeding off of every word he's saying and looking like she _almost_ wants to tell him. Kai looked down to her biting her bottom lip contemplating her next move and he stretched his hands out across the counter leaning in slightly; the gesture making him look larger. Catching the woman's line of view looking him over from one arm across his chest to the other she met his eyes and held her gaze until she shook her head seemingly snapping herself out of a daze.

"Sorry kid, the best I can do is let her know you were looking for her when she gets back."

"' _Kid_ '," he murmured smirking at the term she intentionally used, "I'm not as young as I look – trust me."

Pursing her lips and giving him an ' _I've heard that before_ ' look she cocked her head to the side trying to keep the upper hand.

"Come to think of it, don't worry about it I know a few other people in town who I'm sure know where she's staying. But thank you for _almost_ telling me," he remarked with a wink and the smile won and broke free, her trying to shake it away and laughing.

Kai spent the next five minutes walking around the building, debating whether it's worth trying to find Josette's information through their files – or somewhere on the computer – or if it was easier to just do a locator spell later. Finding himself in a familiar place he looked at the _Clinic_ sign at the other end of the hall and stopped when his peripheral brought him directly to his new target of choice; the love of Damon's life.

Casually strolling down the hall he watched her as she jotted notes down on a clipboard walking around and checking on the waiting patients before heading for the room in the back corner; Kai shaking his head at her first mistake. Focused on the destination at hand he made it to the door within seconds and heard it click shut behind him.

"Kai?" Elena asked spinning to face him looking bewildered and on edge, "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for your boyfriend or my sister, and yet as fate would have it I found you instead."

"Why are you looking for Damon?" she questioned taking a step back when he moved forward.

"I think you know why," he said with a tilt of his head looking over her defensive stance, high-strung compared to how she was acting the other day around him, "but in case he failed to fill you in on his ill-fated plan – he tried and momentarily succeeded in killing me. Unfortunately for him I don't tend to go down so easily _and_ have been accused of having this irrational need to get even. The details are a little fuzzy but the goal was to cause him severe pain without killing him and I do believe the right idea has finally presented itself… in a spunky medical intern outfit."

Elena caught on quickly and attempted to vampire speed past him but his hand raised and caught her at the last moment blowing her backwards into the opposite wall.

"You don't have to do this," she gritted standing slowly.

"Oh, but I want to _,_ " he winked flicking his wrist as the medical tray to her right erupted and flew everywhere; grumbling in response.

Watching her run to the other door he flicked his wrist again and cursed under his breath as all the items around her fell off the wall. Closing his eyes Kai heard the click of the door opening and twisted his wrist once more, exhaling in satisfaction hearing a _snap_ followed by a loud thud. Opening his eyes he saw Elena sprawled out in the middle of the hall and took a few steps to her with pep in his step, looking both ways seeing no alarmed faces in sight. Scanning the rest of his surroundings he noticed a wheelchair a few feet away and pulled it over, lifting Elena up and onto the chair as she slumped forward in a heap. Spinning her around Kai made his way through the hallways in nonchalance, narrowly avoiding a few suspicious onlookers and fairly impressed when he found the front entrance within minutes. He had just made it to the sliding entrance when the gift shop to his left caught his attention, the single long white pillar candle in the window drawing him closer until he side stepped around the glass snatching it unnoticed before heading out the door.

Elena and Kai were strapped in and onto their next destination before he could even figure out where that was. He didn't know his way around the town too well but he did recall long car rides with Sheila from the college where she used to teach back to her house and around the center of town going to the small shops aligning the streets. Kai drove until he recognized a familiar place and knew he was getting close to the town he knew excessively well from his _permanently-temporary_ home he lived in; the Salvatore mansion. Bonnie had made a big deal that vampires couldn't get back into Mystic Falls because of the magical border surrounding the town but if Kai was correct then his siphoning loophole may have just solved the problem for all of her little companions.

Kai knew he couldn't kill Bonnie's best friend, even if she did happen to be Damon's weakness so he was really hoping he was correct as the _Entering Mystic Falls_ sign was straight ahead. Figuring it was now or never he pressed his foot to the gas and blew past the sign, looking over at Elena's already unconscious body and wondered if the spell could still kill her if she already technically _was_ dead as well as momentarily unconscious. Taking her not bursting into flames like they did on _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ as a good sign he continued on until he passed a school seemingly abandoned and turned into the back parking lot.

Driving once around the building he concluded that it was either winter break or education has finally turned optional, parking in the empty lot and heaving Elena's body over his shoulder and grabbing the candle before heading inside. Wandering the halls he stepped into a big and spacious room and exhaled with ease at the instant recognition of where he was by the vending machines on the other end. Laying Elena across a stray table off to the side with the candle beside her he made his way over to the machines and checked his empty jean pockets, huffing before walking back and finding Elena's wallet in her back pocket. Skimming through her bigger bills he took all of the singles and hummed as he made his way back over, grabbing a Coke and three different snacks as dying always seemed to make him starving after. Munching on chips he walked across the hall to the Gymnasium and rummaged around until he found rope, making his way back and scooping Elena off the table to tie her arms behind the pole off to his right. Finishing off the last knot Kai heard Elena's moans and mumbles walking back around to crouch down in front of her.

"How…"

"Did you happen to make it back into Mystic Falls with yours truly? I forgot to mention right before Damon reached inside my chest to crush my heart I fell in the graveyard and felt a familiar tingle of magic beckoning me. So of course after I woke up I made my way back over and I – I guess I devoured it? It's the best way to describe it since I can feel it practically filling me up to here," he demonstrated holding his hand near his forehead, "there was a chance I didn't absorb it all but I took you not bursting into flames when I crossed the border as a big thumbs up."

"Why am I here, Kai?"

"I figured we could spend some quality time together getting to know each other."

"… _why?_ "

"Why not?"

"Because we have nothing to talk about – not to mention you have me _tied up_ to a _pole_ right now," she reminded him pulling her hands at the knots behind her.

"I figured it was better than me having you magically frozen in place but I can do that if you'd prefer," he walked back to the table getting the candle and sat down crossed legged, placing it beside him and sipping his drink, "so I have to know; when did you decide you were gonna ditch the good brother for the bad one?"

"What? That's not how it happened. And what is with the candle?"

"I saw it at the gift shop and I couldn't resist. Anyway I'm just giving you the short version of what I've heard, but it revolved somewhere around ' _dating the younger Saint Morals brother before switching things up and going for the leather-jacket-wearing-taste-for-murder older brother.'_ Believe me I don't blame you, on paper I can definitely see the appeal of seeing how the other side is. So what was that like; falling for both brothers?"

Elena scoffed and looked away yanking at the rope which brought another thought to mind, scooting in close causing her to stop her frantic movements.

"What are you doing?" she breathed a foot away from his face as Kai leaned in closer moving his right hand around the pole touching the rope and murmuring a chant in Latin to magically bind the rope in place.

"Just making sure you're comfortable," he smiled leaning back to sit down, "go on, tell me when it was when Damon first caught your eye and made you swoon."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Color me interested," he shrugged looking her over.

"That's not an answer."

"Maybe if you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

Elena stared him down for a moment, seeming to contemplate her options before continuing, "There wasn't any one specific moment, he kind of just… snuck up on me and I couldn't get him out of my head, no matter how hard I tried."

"So you didn't want to be with him at first?"

"No," she scoffed "Damon was a completely different person when I met him. I really didn't like him at all I was just thrust into certain circumstances where I was forced to be around him all the time."

"Interesting," Kai smiled thinking that sounded dangerously familiar, "how about we make a game out of this, more fun for the both of us! I ask some questions, you conjure up the details, and maybe I'll even answer a couple of zingers you have for me."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"You aren't a _little_ curious about me?" he questioned with a skeptical head tilt, "the questionable new guy that was trapped in an alternate universe with your best friend and boyfriend for months? Now I just find that hard to believe."

"I've heard plenty," Elena retorted and he chuckled tearing open a Milky Way and taking a large bite.

"And from all the ones who are the nearest and dearest to me," Kai mumbled through the mouthful, "am I what you expected?"

Elena looked him over tilting her head from side to side with the corners of her mouth curved down; shrugging to show her disinterested that made his lips curve. "Damon may have mentioned being cooped up with an annoying younger Charles Manson, without the outward crazy appearance or support from your ' _followers'_."

"That's pretty spot on since Manson had the nasty habit of going after couples and families. Although we do part ways when it comes to the basis _behind_ the madness as his ' _Helter Skelter'_ land of confusion drove him half out of his mind while I am still perfectly sane. And he did everything because he was desperate for a family of like-minded people."

"While you're just desperate to kill yours," Elena shot back.

"It's on the list," he leaned back unconcerned, "but it's not the main reason I'm back."

"Then why?" Elena wondered looking like she genuinely wanted to know.

"You really wanna know?" he smiled and she pursed her lips in response, "will you answer my next question?"

"Sure," she tossed out.

"Power," Kai nodded once and her eyebrows drew in, "surely you can understand; a former mere weak human in a supernatural world needing others to protect you compared to the badass you must feel like now. You have superhuman abilities that I'm guessing have saved your life more than once and if given the option you would stay just as you are – sound about right?"

"Not like I have a choice."

"But if there was I know the choice you'd make because it's the same one I and any rational being would make – choosing to protect yourself."

"You wouldn't need to worry about people coming after you if you didn't break out with a set plan on hurting them. Maybe you could have come back and just let Liv and Luke do this ceremony and not threaten Jo, then you wouldn't have to be looking over your shoulder."

"Oh I'm used to it by now; practically have eyes in the back of my head, on a good day at least. But see if I let the B team take over the show then I don't get any magic; no magic means no power and then I'm just a sitting duck awaiting my father's arrival."

"Well maybe if you-"

"No," he cut her off, "won't work."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"I know it's got to be one of the fifteen reasons Bon tried bargaining already, and if she couldn't sway me your odds aren't looking too good."

"You know how much Bonnie doesn't want you to do this."

"I do."

"And how angry she'll be with you afterwards."

"I'm aware."

"It might even be enough for her to walk away," she mentioned blasé and Kai squinted examining her angle.

"Oh, are you trying to work Bonnie into the conversation to – what – give me an epiphany? Make me change my ways?" Kai chuckled shaking his head and finishing the can of soda, "you watch too many sappy love shows."

"I'm trying to open your eyes to the things you could be losing if you go through with this."

Licking his lips Kai fought the smile that was itching to break free over the concept that anyone could really _have_ Bonnie to begin with, let alone lose her. His eye-line went from her profile down to the tightly secured rope and back up; not going too deep into thought on wondering what would be the final straw to break her back.

"Pretty sure it'll all work out."

"Kai you just _kidnapped_ her best friend."

"We're _hanging out,_ " he corrected.

"Do you usually tie up the people you hang out with?"

Kai shrugged looking off into the distance thinking over the scenarios where having the person bound would have been extremely beneficial. Memories from the past started to transition over into more indecent territories involving him and a certain witch, and he had to shut that down immediately before it escalated into its own idea that he would later try to reenact.

"Maybe I should start," he smirked and leaned towards her resting his chin on his thumbs, "alright now it's my turn; tell me about the first time your feelings for Damon shifted from ' _ugh'_ to ' _oh damn_ '."

Keeping his focus on Elena's expression he watched for any slight shifts indicating that she's reflecting on one moment in particular; needing her to know it before he could do anything. Eyes darting back and forth between hers he saw a flicker of recognition as her gaze lifted to meet his, the memory front and center.

 _Immissi sunt stupore mentis…_

Elena breathed in a gasp of air as the candle lit beside Kai; the _Remembrance Spell_ allowing him to physically see the memories that someone was currently fixated on and alter, adjust, or erase them as he sees fit. Kai's gaze bore into hers until he saw flashes of Damon at the bottom of a staircase in a suit, staring up where he was as Elena descended the steps. Closing his eyes and centering his mind Kai lifted his palm and was able to shift the scene as it played out in front of him; erasing Damon from the equation leaving her alone and embarrassed, causing a small thread to come loose in their foundation that he was eager to pull on.

 _Memoria absterget…_

Squeezing her eyes closed and shaking her head, almost as if to shake a new memory free Elena stared back at Kai unalarmed and in the beginning of a daze. "What did you ask?"

"I was wondering when you and Damon finally pushed yourself through that awkward stage into the more exciting areas. I personally like to just skip the middle and go straight to the good stuff."

"I-" she tried again shaking herself out of the magical daze she was falling deeper into.

The flame beside him burned higher as Kai's unwavering concentration kept her stuck in a disoriented state, her subconscious conjuring up memories while her mind was trying to simultaneously relearn others.

"Was it cheesy, everything you imagined, on a bed of roses?" he questioned trying to weave out the other memories to find the one he wanted.

"Definitely not how I imagined," she said slowly and Kai caught a faint glimpse of them kissing outside before little Gilbert interrupted them.

"Awh how innocent - a kiss; not what you would consider ' _romantic?_ '"

"Only if you consider crappy hotel rooms romantic."

The one detail triggered the memory in its entirety; starting from when they were lying together in bed to Elena outside of the room, walking into Damon and going at it. Breathing in and raising his hand again he focused on slowing the scene down until it was paused on their kiss, his exhale filling in the next thirty seconds of Elena not feeling any sparks and pulling away moments before Jeremy walked out.

 _Memoria absterget…_

Swaying woozily Elena's eyes glazed over and her head lulled forward moaning quietly as he dropped his hand back in his lap.

"How's it going over there, doing alright?"

"I feel dizzy."

"That's to be expected. Keep going, dig deeper into that mushy love story I've heard Damon pine over; how you're destined for each other, the Jekyll to his Hyde, breaking through the supernatural walls keeping you apart…"

Rapid flashes of memories started to come to the surface as she played through them scanning through and pausing on brief moments; Kai taking advantage and distorting them appropriately before stopping on them arguing over a bond they share.

"That pesky sire bond, I remember Damon weeping that he should have taken advantage of that time when he had it even if your feelings for him weren't real." He smirked recalling Damon whining to Bonnie on their trips to the grocery store and shops around town where Kai just so happened to be within earshot.

"My feelings were always real," she said in a stronger voice lifting her head attempting to blink the daze from her vision.

"Hm," Kai hummed looking over her defensive stance that seemed eerily familiar to one he just experienced, "how do you know?"

"Because I know what I felt," Elena huffed as he sat as a mere onlooker to the significant instances throughout the sire bond where they fought against what they felt, said to each other, and the connection that kept gravitating them back together.

"Yeah but it was kind of like you were under a spell, right? The equivalent to drinking a love potion and suddenly feeling hooked on one person; doesn't sound like it involves too many emotional investments."

"Maybe I didn't know what I was feeling or why but sire bond or not there has always been something in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't explain or get rid of – and believe me I tried."

"So when did you know – or when did he finally believe you – about the whole ' _hey I really like you even though I have this slight issue that makes you not believe anything I'm saying.'_?"

"He knew I _liked_ him… that's easy, I was trying to convince him I was _in love_ with him."

"Same difference," he shrugged not caring about the type of wording, just the answers behind them.

"It's- it's not. Haven't you ever loved anybody?" Kai could tell Elena was trying to clear her mind from his magical haze to switch the conversation by forming new thoughts but he tightened his hold on her as the Travelor's charged energy coursed through his system.

"Not that I can recall, but then again I'm lucky to get along with people in general. Now let's swing it back on over to you – when did he believe you?"

Elena's head jerked back as Kai saw her sobbing on the ground and Damon crouching in front of her telling her to ' _turn it off'_ immediately followed by Elena burning the house down. The sequence picked up speed scanning through her antics living wild and carefree – a side of her Kai would have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know – as she caused havoc and told Damon off that it in fact _was_ just the sire bond that had her drawn to him. Catching a flash of Bonnie he pinpointed the memory to go with it and grinned watching Bon's startled expression when they announced her Prom Queen, taking the stage overjoyed followed by Elena attacking her outside. Chuckling out loud he watched Elena choke on Bonnie's blood collapsing to the ground as she snapped bones in her arm and leg. Kai had to admit he was authentically taken by surprise seeing this violent altercation between the girl Bonnie has given such high appraisal to. Back on track Kai sped past the rest of the timeline scrolling through until he saw the kid who was just deemed Prom King getting killed by her very own Prince Charming, and Elena losing her mind over it.

"When I flipped my humanity switch back on; at first I felt everything too much and then there was nothing at all, but after that it was almost like I had a fresh slate and could see everything clearly. I knew without a doubt what was real and he believed it too."

Kai made a face of disapproval, wanting the answer to be something more… practical, that he'd be able to use in his own situation to persuade Bonnie. If he was trying to relate the issues into the same category he would be considered the one with their ' _humanity switch off',_ but unfortunately for his non-vampirism ways his mind didn't come with the easy option of flipping the switch as he pleases. Clearing his throat his energy swirled and conjoined in his palm, raising it to her skull and keeping everything the same besides one slight adjustment of Elena still believing her core feeling was because of the sire bond.

 _Memoria absterget…_

"Alright Elena, final question," he chirped as her tipsy appearance started to tip over to sloppy and was fixated in the core of the spells trance, "when was the first time you _knew_ you were in love with him?"

Shaking her head a fraction Kai caught small fragments scattered from Elena fighting against recalling the moment, urging her on through her stubborn complaints of not wanting to think about it but not being able to control her thoughts or verbal filter. Kai kept at it, throwing out random pieces of information that her subconscious could latch on to until he brought up Damon's better half and a clear image of a round pendant appeared.

"Fancy necklace, who's it from?"

"Stefan, but Damon ended up finding it every time I lost it and giving it back to me. The last time I thought I had lost it forever and he got it back to give to me as a birthday present. The necklace… it wasn't just sentimental it had a meaning behind it; the symbol of hope for me and his brother. Damon knew what the necklace meant to me, what it meant about my feelings for Stefan but he did it anyway. I knew how much it hurt him but he put me first, it was the most selfless that he's ever been. Even though I didn't want to, and it terrified me more than anything… I knew I loved him."

Kai took note of the shift in her eyes and put his palm towards her zoning in to her subconscious, maneuvering with a bit of resistance to erase the memory; playing out the night where Damon never showed up to give her the necklace and the party was miserable, ending with her on the couch in her own house watching movies with her brother.

 _Memoria absterget…_

" _Jeremy…_ " she whispered as tears started to stream down her face.

Drawing his subconscious back out of hers he got a first-hand look into all the times Jeremy has been injured with Damon as the cause, overall lighting up his mood with glee. Before these two dated the history seemed a bit rocky to say the least, Kai smiling to himself that at least he hasn't killed any blood relatives to Bonnie or someone she loves. Checking Elena's slumped position her groans and sobs started to sound like dry heaves, Kai scanning their surroundings and grabbing a plastic container nearby pushing it to her side.

"I'm not gonna lie if you throw up I might have to leave the room, I have a pretty weak stomach."

"I find that… hard… to believe," she coughed into the bucket which fortunately did not come with any projectile mishaps.

"Oh it's true; the smells of baby vomit, dirty diapers, leftover food," he shivered biting back the bile, "I associate the whole disgusting matter to the tiny humans, they ruined that whole fifth sense. Or is it the fourth? I can never remember the order. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Like I'm suffering from the worst hangover of my life," she groaned, "what's going on?"

"Nothing, just getting to know you better," he said offhandedly, "I was asking you about Damon."

" _Why?"_

"Well he's the only other company besides Bonnie I've had for the last 18 years, I was just curious to see how you felt about him."

"He's Stefan's older brother, he used to be nothing more than a monster and inconvenience in my life."

"And what is he now?"

"Now he's just… in my life, for more than six years now so he's been grouped into my circle of friends but it wasn't by choice."

Kai felt his smile spread from excited to sinister, the satisfaction that Damon was not going to be happy taking a back seat to the fact that he did a semi-hefty memory wipe spell correctly.

"No hidden sexual feelings there?"

"No hidden _what?_ " she asked sounding like she has never given it a moment of thought and Kai couldn't contain his laughter from spilling out.

"You know, from being around him for so long and there are always those stories about falling for siblings."

"Yeah well, this isn't one of those stories," she said dismissively.

"That is spectacular," Kai beamed leaning over her to magically unbind the rope and waving his hand to loosen the knots, pulling her arms around and rubbing her wrists.

"You look a little woozy I wouldn't try standing too quickly."

"What did you do to me?"

"Nothing that'll cause any irreparable damage and you're not bleeding out of any major arteries, so I would say you got away cleaner than most. Why, what do you remember?"

"You were talking about wanting to be powerful," she murmured rubbing her temple, "and I was reminding you how unprepared you're going to be when Bonnie walks away."

"Which is still up for debate," he argued, "anything after that?"

"You started bugging me about Damon who triggered my usual mix of uneasiness and nausea and then you pushed this bucket in front of me."

"Which was probably the most considerate thing I've done today."

"Mhm, and was tying me to this pole the worst?" she questioned raising her uninjured wrists in the air, "why did you do that anyway if you were just going to untie me twenty minutes later?"

"Dramatic effect?" he shrugged, "not to mention your vampire speed is a little tough to keep up with so I figured the rope would waver your confidence of escape and hey what do you know."

"Why was it so important to bring me here?"

"Not so much in bringing you here, but getting you alone so I could pick your brain. I know it must not make sense right now with your dizzy mind swaying you this way and that, but all will be revealed soon and it'll be something to see. Until then, let's say we get you home."

Moving to stand Kai heard a buzzing coming from Elena's pocket as she pulled out a sleek skinny rectangle and brows furrowed, "its Damon."

"Can I do the honors?" he smiled brightly with his hand extended towards her and she turned her head to the side skeptically before slowly handing over the futuristic phone. "Elena's phone, Kai speaking."

"You little weasel," Damon's voice sneered, "If you hurt one hair on her perfect head I will-"

"Kill me?" he finished for him chuckling, "oh man, you have _no idea_ how unthreatening that term is… well, actually – I guess you would."

"What are you doing with her? Where are you? Why-"

"Relax," Kai drawled out, "we're hanging out at the school, reminiscing over old times; you should stop by."

"You're in Mystic Falls?"

"The one and only."

"You can't be Elena would have died trying to cross the border."

"Funny story, I tested out that theory and apparently that is not the case. Hey do you have any dollars on you? I'm working with big bills and the vending machines haven't upgraded since 1990."

"Put Elena on the phone."

"I think I'll leave the reunion face to face, always more exciting that way."

"I'm not falling for your mind games _Evil Twin_ , for all I know Elena did die crossing the border and you're setting me up to do the same thing."

" _So dramatic_ ," he remarked through an eye-roll and moved the phone away from his ear, "say something so he knows you aren't dead."

"I'm fine," she uttered in a confused monotone.

"And where are we?"

"The high school."

"So I'll be seeing you and Bon in about fifteen?" he chirped bringing the phone back to his ear.

"You better be gone by the time I get there," Damon taunted before the line disconnected and his smile widened in anticipation.

"They are on their way."

"I have a feeling Bonnie's going to be pretty mad at you," she smirked tilting her head to one side.

"Not as mad as Damon," he snorted, "but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"It's good, keep making decisions like this; she won't have to feel any lingering guilt or sympathy when it sinks in that you're beyond saving."

"Pretty sure she's already well aware of that," he winked, "besides unlike most of the teen population _I like me_ , just the way I am."

"And what about her?" she questioned and his brows crinkled, "how does she feel about you?"

"Isn't that the million dollar question, you'd have to get the answer from her but good luck it's like a sealed fortress trying to break into that mind."

"Not so much when you're her best friend and have been able to pick up on things about her since you were five."

"Oh really, well then do tell," Kai perked scooting closer.

"Well everything I have heard revolves around you threatening them with arrows and siphoning powers and there was tension all the time."

"That sounds fairly accurate."

"But then you both come back and you're still around her, and it doesn't seem to bother her nearly as much as I expected, not to mention this _different_ type of tension that seems to follow you guys around." Kai fought against the curve in the corner of his mouth but it broke through as he snickered, "is there something going on between you two?"

"I like being around her, she's intriguing. Then again I haven't talked to anyone for almost two decades so the dullest person on Earth would have been an upgrade."

"Do you like her?"

"I just told you, I like being around her," he reiterated not sure how she didn't understand.

"No, you know, like do you _like_ her; have you ever felt nervous, or anxious, maybe caught yourself thinking about her, or-" Kai's snort pulled her from her current train of thought, squinting in determination as she tried another tactic, "have you ever thought about hooking up with her?"

"Oh, absolutely," he remarked with a cheeky grin and her expression switched to surprise, over his honesty or abrasiveness he wasn't too sure of.

"You like her company, want to get closer to her… do you enjoy making her day more difficult?"

"Who wouldn't?"

"Getting into arguments?"

"It's so much more fun when magic's involved."

"And she makes you laugh?" his smile seemed to suffice as an answer for Elena as one of her eyebrows raised, "you know Kai, if you hadn't tried to kill Bonnie I would almost believe you had feelings for her."

"First off – she started it; I mean an axe to the heart? My arrow was a flesh wound compared to that. And of course I feel things towards her, amusement and frustration are the first two that jump out at me but I'm sure I could get more creative if I thought about it."

"What about affection and infatuation?"

"You're getting all cutesy on me again."

"Desire?"

"Better," he agreed with a single nod the same time a voice boomed behind him.

"The only reason I'm not tearing your heart completely out of your chest right now is because Bonnie threatened to do the same to me on the ride over."

"She's a peach," Kai smiled spinning around on his butt to Bonnie and Damon hovering near the entrance, "but seeing how you just tried that a few hours ago and it backfired – and I'm talking in a pretty significant way – I wouldn't suggest attempt number two."

"Kai, what's going on?" Bonnie's eyes locked into his stepping in front of Damon, "what did you do?"

"Just a bit of retaliation," he remarked getting to his feet and watching her take another step towards him, "it's poetic, really. See I was wracking my brain after I woke up from being killed once again pondering, ' _should I go after Damon, or someone Damon loves?_ ' and as if a higher power made the decision for me; in walked Elena. Now don't worry Bon, I knew there was a slight chance you would ' _phasmatos'_ me into oblivion if anything major happened to her, but I couldn't just pass up the opportunity that was handed to me."

"Get to the point, _now,_ " Damon hissed.

"Well, Damon ," Kai exclaimed in a grand tone taking a step towards them, "since I couldn't really do a tit for tat resulting in Elena's death, I thought I would focus more on the symbolism behind it and instead go straight for your heart."

Following Bonnie's eyes darting from him down to Elena he caught Damon in his peripheral coming towards him and evened out his stance in case he tried anything. Blowing past him Damon crouched in front of Elena touching the side of her face and watched her jerk away from his hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked in what Kai would consider his ' _soothing voice'_.

"I'm fine," Elena responded glancing from Damon over to Bonnie before standing and steadying herself.

Damon crushed her into his chest before she could see it coming, muttering out pieces of words before he angled his head to kiss her and she pushed him off of her.

"Elena-"

"Damon, what are you doing?" she yelped and Kai felt his smile creeping into place, eyes glued feeling like he was in the television set and part of the movie.

"What's the matter with you?"

"With _me –_ you're the one that just tried to kiss me!"

Damon's troubled blue eyes drifted from her to Kai's, sobering at the sight of him as his expression turned rabid, " _What did you do to her?_ "

"Honestly I think I helped her," he shrugged "she seemed _really_ wrapped up in her feelings."

"And what was your solution to that?" Damon gritted making the corner of Kai's lip curve.

"Forget about them."

Kai could hear Bonnie off to his right breathing in sharply whispering, " _you have magic?_ ", her stunned sound was displayed all over Damon's face staring at Kai as his jaw hit the floor and grabbed Elena's cheeks looking her over.

"Tell me you remember me."

"Obviously I know who you are."

"And everything you feel about me," he continued and Kai saw no signs of recognition in her expression, "you're in love with me, and I love you."

" _What?_ " she croaked and laughed at the propriety, stepping out of his grasp and crossing her arms, "were you bitten by a werewolf recently? I'm Elena… not Katherine; just because we look alike does _not_ mean we think the same."

"No but you did tend to make the same decisions – repeatedly," he reminded her stepping closer, "only Katherine wasn't born with a soul so everything she did was calculated and only benefited her."

"She sounds great," Kai nodded back in Bonnie's direction before looking back.

"We're together because what's between us is real – you once told me it was the most real thing you ever felt."

Elena allowed him to get extremely close to her personal bubble and closed her eyes, seemingly trying to remember these specific moments that Damon was firing out at a rapid pace. Hoping to trigger the emotions, they kept at it until she sighed and shook her head looking into his weary gaze.

"I'm… sorry Damon, I just - I don't think that way about you."

Damon's entire body looked like it deflated from within; Kai taking note that this was the first time Damon's been at a loss for words and was happy to see that the false memories held up through hearing the blurred thoughts of reality. Kai looked over to Bonnie who seemed uncharacteristically quiet watching her avoid his gaze as she stared straight ahead at Romeo and Juliet. Tilting his head he took a mental poll of how many times he's pissed her off and tried to place where this ranked; hoping for the best but expecting a _witchy woo storm_ heading straight for him. Taking a few steps towards her Bonnie's neck snapped in his direction and gave him a lethal stare.

"Stay right where you are," her tone tried warning his common sense but he couldn't help it and took another step closer, "one more move and you'll be getting a brain full of aneurisms."

"Oh come on, she's fine," Kai chuckled and felt a sudden sharp pain when he tried getting closer, "she's breathing, healthy, and still your trusted BFF what more do you need?"

"I need you not to mess with her head," Bonnie hissed quietly.

"I made one slight adjustment."

"She doesn't remember she loves him!"

"I know pretty cool, right? There were limited times where I was able to practice magic on my own so I spent most of my time reading all the different incantations and let me tell you – there is a heaping. It's safe to say I'm like the Rain Man of witchcraft and spells; my ability to retain and remember surprises even me so it was a warm welcome when this spell sprung to mind."

"And what spell _is_ this?"

"You know that saying ' _he loves me, he loves me not'_? Well, kind of similar to that only more of ' _you love him, you love him not'."_

"Why would you do this?"

"Because he tried killing me, and if he thinks he can go around crushing hearts, I thought he might want to get a taste of his own medicine," he looked over her prickly exterior but couldn't get a read on what was going on upstairs "but just between us; you aren't a little happy to see me?"

"No, definitely not what I'm feeling right now."

"What about when you just walked in? Or when you heard I was on the other end of the phone?" his voice was low so only she could hear him but he watched her eyes constantly shift from his face to over his shoulder, "you didn't feel a little burst of delight knowing I was still alive?"

"I knew you'd be fine, you're too difficult to kill that easily," she grumbled and zoned into him locking eyes, "but then you had to go and do something idiotic – like kidnap my best friend – and knock yourself down a few more pegs."

"We were just hanging out, you know - getting to know each other; braiding each other's hair and telling secrets, nothing you need to go nuclear over."

"You haven't even seen explosive," she fumed brightening up Kai's face and mood.

" _I think I have,"_ he whispered leaning in closer.

"Bonnie are you ready to go?" crackled through his eardrums as Elena closed the distance between them, "would you mind dropping me off at the dorm?"

Unwavering from his cheeky smile Bonnie continued staring at him for a few beats longer before a smile ghosted across her lips and turned focusing on Elena. "I have a better idea, let's call Caroline since she's having an equally confusing day and watch a bunch of movies eating junk food like when we were kids – only with alcohol."

"That sounds exactly like what we all need tonight," she sighed happily and snaked her arm through Bonnie's, both looking at Kai at the same time thinking what he imagined were monumentally different thoughts before heading out the cafeteria door.

"Your girlfriend's going to be fine," Kai turned back to Damon smiling reassuringly before dropping his grin to a look of confusion, "wait… is she still technically your girlfriend if she doesn't know?"

Damon tried super-speed charging him but Kai had been anticipating his moves, raising his palm to him before he had gotten a few steps closer and dropping to his knees groaning in pain. Kai chuckled in amusement listening to Damon ground out broken hate-filled sentences as he crouched down in front of him.

"You know what the real kick in the ass has to be? If you had just minded your own business and not try to make things worse, I wouldn't have had to do the same to you. Now we got Elena involved, Bonnie's ticked, and you didn't actually kill me which was kind of the whole point and the reason we're here now. Oh hey silver lining – Mystic Falls is now open to being infested with vampires again, the townsfolk will be so pleased."

Lowering his palm to ease back on the magic against Damon's now fried brain he watched him puff and cough against the floor before looking up.

"For your safety, there better be a way to reverse your spell or snap Elena out of it so my girlfriend can remember she's in love with me."

"What, you don't think you can make her fall for you twice? Did you lose that Salvatore charm that you've bragged so much about?"

"Please, Elena was still finding ways to fall for me," Damon scoffed and Kai felt nausea go right up his throat, choking back the humor and disgust that arose on cue.

"Then you'll have no trouble rekindling that flame. I do hope it's not too tarnished by your impeccably long list of screw ups over the last few years but that's nothing on the century and a half of mayhem you've cause, am I right? Of course I can't say too much my record sheet isn't exactly spic-and-span either, I guess we're just works in progress. Anyway I think I'm going to get going too since it's not really a party without any ladies present, can you get yourself home safe?"

Damon's painful howl against Kai bursting more blood vessels sufficed as an answer, smirking before flicking his wrist and hearing the satisfying ' _snap',_ thinking he'd rather be safe than sorry if Damon tried sneak attacking him again. Kai checked over his lifeless body a moment longer before nodding at a job well done and heading out the door and down the hall, whistling as he went.


	8. Chapter 8

"You mean you really _don't_ remember?" Caroline asked skeptically.

"No."

"Any of it?"

"Nope."

"Not even a lingering romantic thought? Or overwhelming urges that you need to satisfy?" Elena stared with a blank expression, a contrast against Caroline's over exaggerated expressions as she paced around the room, "what, I'm just trying to come up ideas that could diffuse the situation; tell me what happened one more time."

Bonnie and Elena groaned simultaneously as Bonnie's head hit the pillow beside her, already hearing all the details of this story half a dozen times over the last three hours and not feeling capable of listening to it again.

"Kai kidnapped Elena from the hospital; he blathered on for the next two hours without taking a breath and used the Travelor's magic that was bordering the town to wipe her memories of loving Damon. She still absolutely knows who Damon is and that he's an important person in her life but those feelings that we're talking about just aren't there." Repeating the sentences Bonnie's heard on a loop she looked above her head to Elena still sitting up and sighed dramatically, "the only problem is that you _do_ feel the things we are talking about since you know we wouldn't just make this up and they are still there… somewhere, you just have to dig deep."

"Really deep," Caroline agreed, "and I mean completely ignoring the Damon we knew in those first couple of years."

"We don't need her forgetting _more_ of him, Care."

"What could happen, she forgets he's mentally unstable?"

"She could forget about the first time she felt a connection with him, realized he wasn't as evil as he likes to think he is, her first unfiltered and unadulterated thought; there's a lot that must have built up in the first few years for them to get to where they are now and remembering everything about him might trigger something."

"I've been thinking about him for hours and nothing's happening, I need a break from the Damon train of thought and talk about something else, anything else, like…" Elena's eyes wandered around the room finishing the last of her mixed berry martini that Caroline was feeding them and looked down at her, "how about the portion of the conversation that we had about _you_ that you skipped over?"

"No that's okay, I've already listened to you both dissect every sentence many times already."

"But we haven't heard what you thought about it," Caroline feigned innocently sitting on the end of the bed with fresh drinks in hand.

"He likes you," Elena perked in a tipsy voice taking one out of her hand, "I think he _really_ likes you."

"Kai doesn't like anyone but himself," Bonnie retorted, "not sure he knows how to."

"I don't know… he admitted he enjoyed being around you."

"Don't forget about him saying he _wanted_ her," Caroline chimed in.

"And feels _desire_ ," Elena goaded.

"Ooh and I loved the part about him looking all ' _daydreamy'_ when you were asking if she makes him laugh."

Turning her head into the pillow Bonnie groaned a long overdrawn sound before sitting up and snatching one of the drinks in front of her, finishing half of it in one gulp.

"But maybe you already know," Elena shrugged catching Bonnie's attention, "maybe he's already expressed how he felt and you aren't sure how you feel about it… or him."

"Kai has never expressed any type of deep-rooted feelings for me or for anything, only the superficial ones. And I don't feel anything for him you're both reading way too much into this, we were just two people who got trapped in a prison world together and had to be cordial and tolerate each other to survive."

"So you're telling us Kai never flirted with you or tried to make a move?" Caroline eyed her unconvinced.

"Have you met the guy? Of course that's not what I'm saying; I'm the first girl he's talked to in decades sexual innuendos are like his second language but it never turned into anything and it isn't going to."

"Well obviously it's not going to, he's a serial killer," Elena giggled and Bonnie felt her chest momentarily tighten, "and sees no issue with dousing someone with love amnesia, but none of that has to do with him having a crush on you."

" _A crush_ ," Bonnie repeated amused, "Kai doesn't know the meaning of the word. He's curious and intrigued – the same way a child gets when you put something shiny in front of them – there's no emotions or attachment behind it. Whatever you thought you were picking up on is just an act he puts on for dramatic flair."

"How are you so sure?" Caroline questioned examining her closely and Bonnie had to finish the last half of the drink before continuing.

"Because I've spent enough time with him that I've noticed certain things, and he's told me stories about his family that proves my point."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that he really _is_ a sociopath; it's like a checklist of Kai's personality going down the characteristics which are complete with a lack of remorse and empathy, shallow emotions, impulsive, and narcissistically charming. Sociopath's and psychopaths have a lot of similarities but they are significantly different in the aspect of how they became that way – and Kai turned into one because of his childhood."

"You don't think he was just born that way?" Elena murmured beside her.

"No, I think he was born different and his father made him into something else. Kai told me before he always felt like an outcast and that he couldn't relate to anyone and his dad just… amplified it. He had no sense of what a family was so he never really connected with anyone and I don't think he knows how to anymore."

"…And that's why you think he doesn't have a thing for you?" Caroline wrapped up tying her ramblings back together to the point she was trying to make.

"Yes, he can't emotionally bond nor have those genuine feelings for another person so it's impossible for him to feel anything for me."

"You don't think what he feels is real?" Elena asked with a hint of seriousness in her undertone causing a chill to run down her spine hearing Kai's words reverberating through her friends.

"I… don't," Bonnie stammered, "I mean I know he doesn't - he physically can't."

"Mhm," Caroline hummed doubtfully, "you know Bonnie you seem to know a lot about what he so called _doesn't_ feel, almost like you guys have had this discussion before. Elena what was it Kai said when you asked him if Bonnie liked him?"

"He wished me luck saying it's impossible to get the answer out of her."

"Interesting," Caroline pondered tapping her chin and looking at the ceiling, "it sounds to me like he's tried on more than one occasion to figure out how you felt about him; the girl who came and rescued him from an eternal Hell."

" _Please,_ " Bonnie snorted feeling a buzz which made Elena snicker, "and what's with the Nancy Drew routine, trying to crack the mystery?"

"Exactly, I have a deep need to know things inside and out especially when it comes to my friends and now there is this part of you that went to a prison world for almost a year and wasn't able to update me every single day so I am just _left here_ wondering and analyzing every detail."

"Okay breathe," Bonnie laughed missing Caroline's fast pace ranting that could fit a speech into a single breath.

"I can't! You're finally here with us and I want to know every moment you've gone through that I missed but I'm still out of the loop to almost all of it. And then you brought a handsome new stranger who last we heard tried to _kill you_ back with you like some hot hookup from France that you couldn't leave behind and we're all just left speculating."

"Well cut it out; I brought him back because his dad was going to kill him and I would have ended up being an accomplice to it and I just – I didn't want to bring that guilt back with me."

"But he could still die here," Elena mentioned, "I mean Damon did just try –"

"And fail," Caroline added.

"To crush his heart which just made him get more sinister on how he was going to get him back but next time he might not be so lucky."

"I'm not his protector; my plan was to get him out of the prison world so he could have an actual chance of surviving instead of his dad slaughtering him and I accomplished that goal. Whatever happens to him now… I'm not responsible for it."

"You weren't to begin with," Caroline vocalized in between taking a sip.

"Yeah but I still felt like I was at least partly since he needed Bennett blood to be able to leave."

"And to be fair he could have just stabbed you and left you for dead," shrugged Caroline.

"Yeah thanks for that, but it is true things could have definitely taken a turn for the worst," Bonnie agreed taking a moment to reflect on the different outcome she could have been up against if Kai was solely focused on escaping and not letting the new girl be a distraction.

"Instead of the direction you're headed in now," Caroline winked and wiggled her eyebrows over to Elena.

"I mean if you did take out that whole ' _I murdered half my family and am back to kill the rest'_ character trait Kai's actually a pretty cute guy."

"He's _hot_ ," Caroline corrected sloshing her drink in Elena's direction spilling some onto her leg causing them all to burst into a fit of giggles, "I haven't heard him talk too much-"

"Just wait," Bonnie nodded.

"But even when he was looking deathly pale it was obvious I was looking at a good-looking guy," Caroline continued, "I mean you weren't temped – _not once?_ "

"By looking at him? Oh yeah, but then he'd start talking and all that allure just melted away."

"Kai does talk _a lot_ ," Elena agreed.

"He rarely stops," Bonnie said truthfully, "probably making up for lost time."

"Still," Caroline murmured in her glass eyes trailing back and forth between her friends and Elena couldn't hold in her laughter.

"You seriously have a one-track mind."

"I do _not,"_ Caroline defended in a high pitched tone, "my mind is just naturally curious and likes to visit certain places more than others."

"And stay for an extended vacation," Bonnie teased.

"Whatever, I wonder about the serious facts of life," she tried to say in a serious voice through the boozy smile breaking through, "like for instance; do you think Kai's still a virgin?"

If Bonnie had a drink left to consume it would have shot out of her nose as the sudden rush of images hit her with force knocking her off-guard and leaving her slightly in disarray. Distantly her friends voices echoed in their own opinions on the matter but Bonnie couldn't focus on them over the intimate knowledge she possesses on the topic; witnessing through her own memories _exactly_ how well Kai knew a woman's body and what to do with it.

"Yeah I don't see how he could be," Bonnie mentioned and listened as a wave of silence washed over the room and glanced between her friends as they turned towards her.

"Oh really?"

"And why do you say that?" Elena grinned.

"Well he was twenty-two when he got shipped off to the prison world, and like you said at the time he didn't have that whole ' _killed my family'_ thing flashing over his head like a neon sign so I'm sure those 90's girls were all over him."

"Mm, I guess that's true. We were all two years old when Kai looked exactly how he does now, that baby face doesn't even look like it can grow facial hair," Caroline sniggered, "but we were still alive when everything was happening; how weird is that?"

"Almost as weird as him being Jo's twin," Elena exclaimed as baffled by the concept as Bonnie was.

"I wonder what he'd look like at forty."

Bonnie listened to Elena and Caroline converse over Kai, narrowly avoiding some tricky comments for her to maneuver her way out of and quickly felt her body and mind draining of its energy as the liquor turned her uppity vibe into one of exhaustion. Continuing to listen to their chatter Bonnie stood pulling back the covers of the section she was sitting on and scurried underneath resting her back against the wall. Within fifteen minutes the wave of exhaustion had hit both of the other girls and Elena curled up beside Bonnie as Caroline took the bed to her left sleeping on the side closest to her. Bonnie felt her body relaxing as the minutes passed, the familiar room and comfort of her best friends close by giving her the moment of peace she's been seeking to successfully drift off to sleep.

xx

Apparently falling asleep and staying asleep were two completely separate issues a person could have to struggle with and Bonnie was now a victim of both. Before being trapped in solitary Bonnie couldn't deny she was fortunate in the aspect of never having restless nights and not being able to sleep soundly; even through all the chaos she's had to endure in the past six years. Once she accepted she was locked away in an alternate universe with Damon her calming slumber became anything but and slowly progressed until raging nightmares kept her awake for days on end. Against her every judgement Bonnie had found solace in her prison-mate and hated to admit that she was less tense and could feel her body unwinding and even taking pleasure in his comfortable presence the longer they were together. The downside to that was the unexpected ripple it would cause in her otherwise restful nights that seemed to have a tight hold on her.

Assuming she wouldn't have any problems with another person who also happened to be her best friend sleeping beside her, Bonnie drifted off without a second thought only to be jolted awake an hour later in a disoriented state of hysteria. The startled sob that escaped her lips wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear but it took her more than a few distressful seconds to take in her new surroundings and familiar faces before she could settle down. After that Bonnie tried reading a magazine to tire her eyes, pace the room to ware out her body and even distract her mind with a heaping of thoughts on movies she's enjoyed over the months to help her drift back off into an REM state. The plan worked initially as to getting back in bed but there was nothing that seemed to cure Bonnie's feverish brain that brought her closer to insanity each time her gasp stunned her awake staring up at the ceiling until the light started to shine in through the windows. Bonnie had lost count how many attempts she tried when Caroline's phone chimed and she somehow managed to answer on the first ring.

"Are you okay?" Caroline questioned pulling the covers off of her and dressing quickly in dark blue jeans, a white tank top covered in floral print and swinging a jean jacket around her shoulders. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked anxiously watching her shove the phone in her pocket.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you, my mom wants me over there she said she's feeling worse," Caroline said rapidly as she stuck her feet through tan boots.

"I've been awake. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No I shouldn't be long but I'll call you if I need you."

"I still don't have a phone, I need to buy one today."

"Oh yeah Jeremy has yours I'm pretty sure it's still on."

"Really?" she wondered, "well then I'm going to head over there right now and grab it."

"It's 8 in the morning," Caroline laughed, "he's not going to be awake… or he'll still be awake, I guess it's a 50-50 shot."

"I've had worse odds," Bonnie commented changing into a spaghetti strap low belted dress with a diamond pattern of light brown, purple, and cream followed by a dark purple cardigan and black heeled boots.

Following Caroline outside of the dorm they parted ways once they reached the parking lot and Bonnie headed straight for the Salvatore house, any possible route to get there already common knowledge and arrived within fifteen minutes. Knowing it was pointless to knock in a house large enough to fit a small community Bonnie stepped inside and looked around at the scenery that's become ingrained in her mind followed by a surprised level of tranquility. Checking all of the usual spots like the living room, kitchen, and Damon's room Bonnie didn't have the patience or energy to go on a door to door raid of the premises so she compromised on wandering down the halls hollering his name in hopes that he would hear.

"Bonnie?" Jeremy croaked from three doors back, "what are you doing here?"

"Hey sorry I didn't know how else to find you, I was hoping I could grab by phone if you still have it."

"And this is a _crack of dawn_ emergency?"

"Kind of," Bonnie shrugged, "Care is going to see her mom and I want her to be able to get ahold of me."

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure; her mom wanted her to go there right now so it didn't sound good," she rocked back on her heels wondering what was happening to Sheriff.

"Come in," he said softly stepping out of the way and Bonnie looked him over noticing for the first time he was only in his boxers, pursing her lips before stepping through the entrance.

"This house has so many bedrooms," she murmured looking over yet another room that didn't stand out to her in any way and she's had the run of the place for almost a full year.

"I know, usually I just end up in a new room but sometimes I'll stay in one spot for a week or two," he walked over to the bed and reached inside the drawer on the bedside table pulling out her phone and lifting his hand out towards her, "I didn't have it in me to shut it off."

"How come?" Bonnie asked with a tilt of her head closing the distance and grabbing the sleek object before he held onto her wrist and took another step forward.

"It was the only way I could hear your voice, and shutting off the phone meant accepting that you were gone and I never did." Bonnie looked into the boy's eyes that she used to feel so in love with she would risk her life for him and a smile crept across her lips, the look he's expressing giving off that same vibe. "You've done so much for me Bonnie, for all of us but you got into this whole mess because of me and you're still dealing with its aftermath."

"What do you mean, I'm back home and _alive_ -"

"And stalked by a psychotic killer who's still going to try and use you in his own master plan. Kai would have never had the opportunity to put your life and others at risk if you weren't connected to The Other Side and that would have never happened if you had just let me stay dead."

"Hey," Bonnie's eyes searched Jeremy's and a flash of dread and devastation reflected back, her hands trailing up with her phone still in one and resting on the sides of his neck, "there is no scenario that could have been thrown at me where I didn't do everything in my power to bring you back. Not only am I the strongest witch in town but you're also someone a lot of us can't seem to live without."

"I wasn't worth it," he shot back.

"You're one of the most important people in my life, Jer – you _are_ worth it."

"You went through Hell because of me," Jeremy whispered running his hand down her arm and sliding it around her back.

"I made my own decision, and it involved saving you, Elena, Stefan, Tyler, Alaric, and even Damon. I went into it knowing there wasn't a high chance of surviving but I was okay with it, because I knew everyone else would be safe."

"Yeah well some of us were going out of our minds without you."

"But you were all alive to feel it, and that's what matters. And look! By some miracle I was able to come back home after all."

" _It is a miracle,_ " he hummed leaning in closer, "for a minute I thought I really had lost you."

"I'm right here," Bonnie reassured before Jeremy's lips collided into hers, rougher than she was used to when it came to his kisses and catching her off-guard.

"I've missed you," Jeremy muttered against her lips leaning in and kissing her with a desperation she hadn't seen on him before.

Clutching the back of his neck for balance Bonnie tried to catch her breath over the unexpected turn the conversation had taken, as a flush of haziness passed through her while locked in his embrace. The first thought that sprang to mind that was deeply unsettling was that Bonnie didn't feel that familiar knot of nerves that would appear when Jeremy would hold her close or trail kisses across her skin, or – even now – kissing her with a hunger she wished he would have shown more of when they were dating. Another thing Bonnie noticed, and at the moment was having trouble recalling back on it but was fully aware of now was that Jeremy's kiss didn't overwhelm her; feeling like time was slowing and becoming a distant blur around them or pulling her into his world and momentarily taking her away from reality.

Pressing into her harder Bonnie tripped back a step and felt the connection with the wall as Jeremy's body was flush on hers. Kissing down her jaw and throat as his fingers danced under the hem of her dress Bonnie closed her eyes trying to remember when they were together since this specific scenario was one that they favored, and became more than mildly concerned when she couldn't find the place within her to conjure up that state of mind. Having her chest so close to his Bonnie was hit with a subconscious thought that she couldn't feel Jeremy's heart beating wildly or hear his ragged breathing like she could with Kai. _Kai…_

" _I love you_ ," snapped Bonnie out of her semi-daze as her thoughts clashed against her current situation which had her physically pulling away and heaving to catch her breath.

"Jer I – you know how I feel about you, but I… need time. My world has gotten flipped upside down recently and I feel like a part of me has changed because of it; I still need to figure it all out."

"I can help you Bonnie; I'll have you back to your old self with college books in hand before you can settle back into Mystic Falls."

"Well I'm not _technically_ in Mystic Falls at the moment but thank you for the offer. The thing is… I kind of like the new me, I don't know really know what Bonnie 2.0 entails but I plan on finding out."

"As long as I'm not one of these changes then I'm completely supportive," he remarked brushing his nose against hers, "because I'm not going anywhere."

Before Bonnie could respond the familiar ringtone that deep down she missed so badly started playing in her hand, pulling her away from her current thoughts when she read the name.

"Care, is everything okay?"

"It was the vampire blood," she sobbed on the other end, "at first it seemed to heal but now it's speeding up her cancer and it's killing her faster! I don't know what to do, I'm the one who gave it to her I-"

"Okay just hold on; let me think for a second," Bonnie paced around the room, "you said the vampire blood is what's killing her which is a supernatural cure on the body… almost like magic, right?"

"I guess," Caroline sniffed.

"Well we just so happen to know someone who can extract magic from people."

"Bonnie…"

"I'll figure it out, call you as soon as I know something," hanging up the phone Bonnie looked back at Jeremy's slowly scowling expression and tilted her head sympathetically in response, "I got to go."

"You're going to find Kai?"

"He can help, for probably the first time in his entire life someone needs use of his siphoning power and Sheriff Forbes isn't getting any better."

"I'm coming with you."

"I really don't-"

"I'm coming," he said with determination and Bonnie knew she didn't have the time to argue with him but was also hyperaware of the fact that the destination she's finding Kai is at Gram's house.

"Not right now, somehow I think it'll be a lot more difficult convincing Kai to do anything just out of spite of you being there. Trust me this is going to work, call Elena and fill her in on what's going on and I'll meet the both of you at the hospital."

"I don't like this plan," Jeremy argued but Bonnie was already halfway out of the room.

"See you soon!"

xx

Driving a hair over the speed limit Bonnie made it back to her Gram's house within ten minutes, swinging open the door and making her way around the first floor before she found Kai curled up around her pillow in her bed.

"Really," she uttered out loud crossing the room and shaking his shoulder and speaking loudly, "Kai get up right now – hellooo."

" _Mmph,_ " Kai mumbled into the side of his pillow turning his head and shielding his vision.

"I need you to do something for me," Bonnie pushed his shoulder in the opposite direction and he fell onto his back making a disgruntled noise.

"Early."

" _Kai_."

"Hm?"

Bonnie breathed in deep not wanting to let the words spill out but under the circumstances knew it had to be done, "I need your help."

Opening his eyes slowly Kai looked out of the corner of his peripheral at her face going down and taking in the rest of her appearance, "well don't you look nice; why are you so dressed up on this early morning?"

"I'm not dressed up," she remarked listening to his gravelly tired voice, "it's one of the new outfits I bought that I left at the dorm. But I need you to get dressed and come to the hospital with me."

"Why's that?"

"So you can suck the bad-vampire-blood-acting-as-magic out of Sheriff Forbes and stop the speeding up process of it killing her."

"Mhm," he uttered waiting for her to go on.

"And it's happening fairly quickly so we need to get over there right now."

"I'm just having trouble figuring out how this benefits me in any way."

"Are you kidding me? Okay, you'll be getting all of that new magic," she bribed.

"I already have it coming out of my ears, for the first time ever I might add so the irony is not lost on me."

"How about helping save someone's life and making another's less traumatic?"

"Eh," he shrugged one shoulder and she leaned on the bed drawing in his attention.

"My best friends mom is about to die and her vampire blood is going to be the reason for it – not the cancer. Will you just… please? Do this for me, and I'll owe you one."

"Really?" Kai asked sounding suddenly intrigued and sat up bringing him in closer, "because that could be a dangerous offer to put on the table."

"I mean it," Bonnie retorted and he squinted his eyes unconvinced, "help me with this and you can cash in a favor too, as long as it doesn't end in me killing anyone or sacrificing myself."

"Like _that_ would be on my list of options," Kai chuckled, "okay, I'll help you Bon; be your knight in shining armor."

Bonnie shook her head and blew out a breath, feeling both uneasy and relieved all at once and had to steady herself before speaking, "get ready and meet me outside in five."

"As you wish," she heard behind her as she darted back down the hallway and out the door.

Moving restlessly on the porch swing she checked her phone half a dozen times before Kai appeared in a dark crimson T-shirt, jeans rolled up at the end and his usual boots along with an array of rings, bracelets, and chain. Giving him a double take Bonnie smiled to herself over how much healthier and happier he looked, hopping off the swing and strolling past him to the car as they raced to arrive at Whitmore Hospital in record time.

-x—x—x—

"So which one's Caroline?"

"You know exactly which one she is – my friend that you _didn't_ forcibly kidnap."

"Oh come on, you make it sound so _dirty,_ " Kai commented stepping out of the car, "like I took her against her will-"

"You did."

"And tortured her-"

"Also true."

"And ruined her entire life," Bonnie gave him a pointed stare and Kai let out a comical noise, "you think not loving Damon will _be the end of her?_ She'll just shrivel up into a big sad sack of nothingness without her other half?"

"You didn't hear how she was when it first happened, taking hallucinogens and nearly losing her sense of fantasy and reality trying to hold onto him."

"Interesting," he murmured walking through the main door following her directions as they headed for the elevators and noticed Bonnie giving him a suspicious side glance, "oh not that she had a _Woodstock_ phase, but that she was only hallucinating Damon."

"The love of her life, the man she didn't want to live a day without until you magically poofed it out of her; yeah that guy."

Shrugging at her noncommittal response the ding of the elevator brought his attention to the overcrowded group in front of him and made a face of disgust in Bonnie's direction.

"It'll be quick," she brushed off stepping inside to the right squeezing in beside the buttons and clicking on one as he slid in beside her.

Kai had never really been a fan of elevators; running up and down flights of stairs always seeming like a fun conquest more than a task and was always extremely cautious to the fact that you can crash and fall into a fiery explosion in said deathtrap. Bumping people whose elbows were jabbing into his back and assuming this must be near mass capacity he looked down at Bonnie taking note of her arms wrapped tightly across her stomach and studied her woozy expression with her eyes to the floor for a moment before he figured out why. Turning and leaning in Kai slid his hands around her biceps moving her a step so her back was against the buttons and flattened his palms on either side of her arms, caging her in.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he smiled looking over her flushed face and restless movements, "how's it going?"

"Fine, why?"

"You seem a little worked up, and jumpy, and snappy," Kai nodded thinking of other colorful adjectives as her laugh pulled him back in.

"It's really early and too much has happened today already and now we're about to go do some more," Bonnie huffed out in one breath staring at his face or chest, seemingly avoiding everyone else.

"Why, what other troubles have you gotten into today?" he wondered, his own night to himself being pretty productive and a little curious to see how she spent hers.

"Oh, nothing too outrageous I've just been up for a while."

"You do look tired," Kai agreed.

"So do you," Bonnie shot back.

"I am," he laughed, "I've already come to miss the days where I could stay in bed for almost a full day and get a solid 15 hours of sleep."

"That does sound nice," she muttered and grunted when Kai was shoved into her.

" _Watch it,_ " Kai growled at the arrogant guy behind him looking like he was in his early 30's and smirked watching a flash of uneasiness briefly show.

"Hey," Bonnie's palm on his chest turned his attention back in front of him, "take it easy."

Kai looked over Bonnie's face; her eyes locked on his and took in her steady breathing and non-fidgeting, the distraction seeming to temporarily put her chaotic mind at ease. Licking his lips through a smile he nodded and kept his arms caged around her until their floor finally arrived.

"She's right over here," Bonnie pointed and disappeared into a room, following close behind and finding almost everyone he's recently met inside.

"Isn't this the part where you guys all jump around and yell ' _surprise!'_ I mean this is a party, right? It's got to be with this many people in here."

"Kai," the sobbing blonde rushed him before he made it halfway through the door and had him up against the wall, "you have to save her."

"You know I'll be honest no one has actually ever said that to me before, I feel like I'm on an episode of ER."

"Yeah he's not the best person to call on for _saving_ people," Elena commented.

"He's the one that people need rescuing _from_ ," Jeremy spewed.

"I'm going to need silence from the Gilbert peanut gallery to focus on the task at hand," he motioned with his palm up to them gesturing ' _stop_ ' and looked back at Caroline, "I don't know if I can work under these conditions."

"Everybody out," Caroline announced without skipping a beat, ignoring the protest of others and going as far as pushing them out the door.

"You're going to make me leave too?" Bonnie questioned looking unconvinced making the corner of his mouth curve.

"I _guess_ you can stay," he drawled out and walked over to the bed, "so what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm killing my mom."

" _Caroline,_ " her mother said sternly, "you know that is not true."

"Well look at you! Look at what has happened because of what _I_ did."

"You didn't know honey it was an accident."

"Doesn't take away the fact that I am the reason your stage 4 cancer jumped to stage 400, and nothing else seems to be helping," Caroline grabbed Kai's arm as he stared at her tear streaked face, "Kai I know you don't know me or owe me anything, but you're my only hope to save my mom. And she's… my mom, I don't know anything about yours but I'm sure you had one too and maybe even had a soft spot for her. Bonnie has vouched for you and that makes me believe that there's good in you that she can see and I'm hoping that part of you is here right now. Can you help me?"

"Well of course I _can_ , it's just the matter of _will,_ " Kai corrected trailing down to Caroline's sickly mother watching her daughter and back and forth between Bonnie and Caroline on the opposite side of the hospital bed announcing with a grand gesture, "and _of course_ I will."

"Really?" Caroline asked puzzled and looked from him to her mom as one of his hands clamped down on her wrist and the other rested against the side of her neck.

"Sure, what are friends for?" he grinned and winked in their direction, closing his eyes and dropping his head as the power started to stir up underneath his palms, fighting its way out of her body. "But I would hope that if I needed a favor in the future…"

"Yes – fine, just do it."

Grinning wide at Bonnie's scowl Kai closed his eyes and went to work; Sheriff Forbes' loud gasp seeming like a pretty decent sign that the plan was working and held onto the connection feeling the magic flowing willingly from her body to his and re-sparking every neuron along the way. Never in his life has Kai had access to so much magic and the potential things he could do with this newfound advantage was making him almost as charged up as the energy coursing through his veins. Absorbing every last drop he stepped back and Caroline swarmed her; asking how she felt, what she felt, if she's hungry, tired, sick – it's astounding her mother had any time to answer.

"I'm feeling… better, still not at my best but I really do feel different."

As if on cue everyone turned and faced Kai, not making any sudden movements to spook them and looked from one female to the next, landing on Bonnie and raising a brow. Squinting her eyes at him he fought the urge to laugh, finding great humor in her look of contempt even _after_ he just helped save someone that made no difference in his life but was semi-significant in hers.

"Well I'd love to stick around and stare at each other awkwardly some more, but I actually have somewhere I need to be."

"Where?" Bonnie questioned crossing her arms.

"I have a _life_ you know, Bon," he teased.

"I'll go with you."

"I won't be gone long we can meet up later, go out and dine where other people make the food."

"No I'll just come with you now."

"Ease up a little; I did just do a good deed didn't I?"

"So are you going out to do a bad deed to even it out?"

Kai was almost positive he didn't smile but Bonnie read his expression anyway, flashing with rage as he strode across the tiles stopping a little too close, "I'll be back before you know it."

"No-" Bonnie reached for his arm but he slid past her giving her a half apologetic shrug and winking before tapping the side of his forehead with two fingers in a salute to Caroline and her mom as a goodbye and excused himself walking backwards out the door and turned out of sight.


	9. Chapter 9

"Kai wait."

"Bon you're so clingy – what a turn on," Kai threw over his shoulder continuing down the hallway as she caught up with him.

"Just hold on a second there's something I have to tell you."

With his curiosity peaked, Kai stopped mid-stride and tilted his head towards her, "yes?"

"I found out the reason that Damon killed you was because your dad wanted him to, but he knew that you wouldn't actually die since you made it out of the prison world. I think he's up to something."

"I'd place a bet on that," he nodded, letting that tidbit of information seep into the part of his mind where his theories swirl around.

"And then you come back healthy and full of magic and he still hasn't shown his face? He has something planned, he could be enacting it right now for all we know so I don't think going off and hunting down your family would be the smartest choice."

"I'll only be gone an hour, what kind of trouble could I get into in that amount of time?"

"You only need five minutes, maybe less."

"You're not entirely wrong," Kai chuckled and turned as she went around him to block his path.

"I'm serious Kai; what if it's a trap that you're walking into and end up getting ambushed?"

"They'd have to be pretty quick to catch me, especially with my heaping of magic coming at them."

"Just tell me where you're going."

"Maybe later."

"If you go and get yourself killed there won't _be_ a later," Bonnie argued as his cheeky grin widened, "and _stop_ smiling at me like that."

"Like what?"

"All satisfied with yourself."

"Not with me," Kai cooed as a flash of Bonnie on his lap admitting to worrying about him sprang to mind causing him to take a step closer, "you still manage to keep me on my toes."

"Yeah likewise," she snorted, "like now, with Sheriff Forbes; I really wasn't sure if you would."

"I wasn't either," he shrugged truthfully.

"Then why did you?"

"Well first; you would owe me one, second; now Caroline owes me one too and third; something had to be done to stop all that blubbering so it seemed like a pretty fair trade."

"You had to make Care do it too?"

"Uh, yeah, she's the one who needed a Special Ops magic siphoner; this wasn't a favor as much as a business transaction where both parties get something out of it."

"You've been back three days and already one of my friends got the back end of your bad mood and will now have to try and fall in love with her boyfriend all over again _The Vow_ style."

"That should be eventful."

"While the other is now indebted to you and will feel obligated to return the favor."

"Good to know; and technically I've been back four days."

" _Don't_ do anything stupid Kai, and stop getting inside everyone's heads."

"It's not my fault I'm just naturally gifted at reading people, and I still have a couple more to check off the list; what about the _other brother_ all brooding and mysterious that I saw that one time for those few short minutes? Damon I had down to the letter within those first four months so he doesn't need any extra attention. Ooh but what about little Gilbert? I've already picked up on a couple things but I don't want to ruin the big reveal for later."

"Leave Jeremy out of this," Bonnie said sternly seeming to trigger the opposite effect in him.

"Afraid of all the juicy secrets I'll uncover?"

"I can promise that you wouldn't enjoy any of them," she agreed with a nod.

"I'll be sure to let you know, anyway I got to run I'll see you in a couple hours," Kai said as a goodbye and made it halfway around Bonnie before her hand wrapped around his arm.

" _Don't kill anyone today_ ," she demanded staring into his eyes and tightening her grip when he didn't respond, "if I find out you did then this will be our last conversation."

Kai tilted his head slightly, hit with a jolt of irritation he hadn't anticipated in response to her ultimatum. Swallowing the string of sentences that were threatening to spill out he stepped into her noticing she didn't move away this time, feeling a grimace start to show before wiping it away with a bite of his lower lip.

"You think you can control me?" he asked so low he felt like he was breathing it out against her face.

Searching his eyes Bonnie wavered showing a brief window of uncertainty before raising her chin in confidence, "no, but I think I have some type of control _over_ you."

Kai couldn't control his eyebrows rising at the bold statement and had to take a moment of silence to contemplate if it was true. For the span of his entire life Kai could argue with absolute certainty that there was not a single person who had the power to influence or sway his thoughts and actions, and after a certain period of time he took great pride on that. Over the years he had seen so many people bend to what other people wanted and expected of them and witnessed the depression and self-loathing that seeped into their cores, vowing to never become one of the weaklings. Without any conscious intention Kai had second guessed his course of action and had up and changed his plan to get out of the prison world altogether once he got to know Bonnie better. Kai was fully aware she got under his skin but he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of how deeply it went.

" _Hm,"_ he hummed in wonder, looking over her face landing on her lips, "I guess if that's true then it goes both ways."

This time the look of unguardedness was wide open as Bonnie opened her mouth to argue only to shut it a moment later in stunned silence. Picking up on what seemed to be an internal battle rocking around he took it as his cue to leave and leaned in brushing his lips across her skin whispering a ' _see you soon'_ before fleeting down the hallway.

Finding his way to the closest stairway he descended down the steps three at a time making his way down the flights and out of the building in lightning speed. Checking the loaded parking lot he weaved through the cars in search of one that was both unlocked and of semi-decent style and came across a sleek all black Jaguar with the top down. Fighting the urge to jump and click his heels in glee he hopped over the door and pulled out the wires from under the steering wheel, his skillset surpassing some of the most notorious criminals out there during his own hard times of being surrounded by automobiles and never being able to keep track of the keys.

Within fifteen seconds the engine was roaring and Kai was on the road to his next destination. The night to himself had given him just enough time and energy to enact a locator spell on his ambitious mini-me's and found them hiding out in yet another overpriced high-end mansion – seemingly the only type of homes that are around in this town. Kai wasn't sure of who exactly lived there but he hoped it was a valiant foe, preferably not a vampire. Taking a left down a long narrow driveway he passed a small white sign reading _Lockwood Manor_ and laughed out loud at the boarding school sized-building he was pulling up to; complete with four long white pillars, at least a dozen windows aligning the front and a large fountain in the yard. Pulling up and around to the front VIP section Kai hopped out of the car and headed up the steps tapping on the door twice before a blonde answered the door.

"Yes?"

"Hi," Kai smiled, "is Lockwood here?"

"You know Tyler?"

"Sure do," he nodded calling back on a hazy memory of Bonnie possibly mentioning that name, "we were buddies in high school and I'm back in town I thought I'd stop by."

"Oh, well he's not here," she said with a finality in her tone and posture, and he couldn't help but curve the side of his mouth.

"Do you know when he's going to be back?"

"No."

"How about I wait here 'til he does," he smiled stepping forward when she blocked his path with her arm.

"I don't know when he's coming back, he just left to check on someone in the hospital so it will probably be awhile – why don't you go find him there."

"On Sheriff Forbes? I was just there she's looking pretty lively again."

"You did?" she questioned looking him over trying to work something out, "you couldn't have been, the only people that have seen her were Caroline, Bonnie and –"

Kai's smile widened the second realization overcame her and leaned back to slam the door but he managed to sneak through before she could.

"I just have one question: do you really not recognize me? I mean… nothing? I know you were young and the slower of the two but I thought I had made a pretty strong impression."

"Kai…"

"That's kind of a letdown, don't you think? Here I am thinking the three of us would reminisce over the old times and that rat-bastard of a coven leader we grew up with when you've been brainwashed on your entire beginning stage of life; you probably lost out on some pretty fundamental stuff. Dear old dad must have physically erased every shred of evidence of my existence to keep you both in the dark – _wow_ , lot of good that did you."

"If you think you can just walk in here and try and scare me or kill me you have got another thing coming," Olivia said through gritted teeth looking like she meant what she was trying to intimidate him with.

"I like the attitude; short-tempered and volatile, I know a person or two that fits that description. I actually didn't come here today to kill you – I know, crazy right? I have you all to myself and it would be more than satisfying just to take you out of the equation now making my whole week smooth sailing but I have come here with a deal that I thought might interest you."

"A deal with you, I don't think so."

"Oh but it's a good one."

"I don't care."

"With the added bonus of not having to die."

"There's no guarantee I'll be dying."

"So you'd rather it be Lucas," he suggested and understood the reasoning behind that choice.

"No! It's – I don't want to hear this! Get out of here."

"Olivia I am here and you are still breathing because I have an offer that _extends your life_ , plus you even get to save your brother - all you have to do is step down from the merge ceremony."

"And let you potentially be our _coven leader?_ You must be dreaming, you'll turn around and kill us all for what happened."

"Oh come on, you think I'm that set on revenge?" Kai asked innocently and chuckled when the sentence left his lips, "okay maybe I am but that doesn't happen to be the case for this. The only thing I want is to achieve what I was born to do; because I'm sorry to tell you little sister you were not the miracle twins that were truly meant to lead the coven but a desperate attempt to take the power away from me."

"Yeah since dad knew what you were capable of," she retorted back and he shook his head gently.

"You only know what you've been told, and you shouldn't even trust that since the same person you're getting your information from put a spell on you when you were just a kid to manipulate and warp your memories - which escalated to messing with your perception and intuition."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Says the girl who is unable to neither recognize nor recall her older brother; one of us is confused here and I really don't think it's me."

"I know you're the bad guy in this scenario and that is good enough for me."

"Somehow I don't believe you," Kai stated stepping forward as Olivia moved backwards towards a smaller side room, "I think deep down the only thing you care about is saving yourself, and ironically… your merge-buddy twin. If there was some way that the both of you survived this ticking time bomb, no matter what the circumstances were; you'd consider it."

" _You don't know me."_

"Oh _but I do_ ," Kai persuaded, "I knew you when you were no more than a babbling tiny person full of sugar. I remember you being the daredevil when Lucas would wuss out and had a habit of arguing your every point when he would just go with the flow. Just because you don't remember me doesn't mean there weren't real life events that you're missing out on. And now you could be missing out on life all together in three days if you decide to do what other people want."

"But it's my duty-"

"It's not," he cut her off smirking, "and it's not your responsibility either."

Hearing the door shut behind him Kai turned at the same time a blonde haired boy appeared in the doorway, giving them both a once over before raising his hand towards Kai's skull triggering a searing pain. Gritting his teeth and holding in his sounds of discomfort he clenched his fist causing Lucas' throat to close breaking his connection to the spell.

"Long time no see, little brother," Kai uttered coughing through the throbbing of his temples and looked him over, "but I guess that statement's pretty literal for you, having all of your memories wiped of me."

"You're lying," he coughed.

"On the contrary."

"Even if that is true it doesn't matter, you mean nothing to us."

"That goes both ways," Kai gritted and felt his posture tense, "but as fate would have it I'm the only way you'll both make it out of this."

"You're out of your mind," Lucas scoffed and stepped forward holding out his hand, "Liv let's go, we're leaving."

"Make sure you fill him in on everything we talked about _Liv_ , I'm sure you'd prefer it over the alternative ending in one or both of your deaths. I can help you survive, or be the reason why you don't make it out alive; seems almost too obvious to me but you are the mutated twins so I'll give you a couple of days to mull it over."

Grabbing hold of Olivia's arm both her and Lucas scurried out the door without another word and sped off down the driveway like Kai was about to hop in his kick-ass Jaguar and smoke them in a drag race. If Kai had thought of it ten seconds prior then it could have been a different story, but alas he was left to race the Jaguar out all on his own. The digital clock on the dash let him know it was only a little after 2PM and he felt like he had built a small pyramid in the amount of time that he's already been awake for. He wasn't sure if it was the different alternate dimension or if they set the clocks back an hour in this decade but Kai was struggling to fall into the sleep rhythm in this world. Once he laid down and passed out he was fine for the most part but getting to that tired stage brought him back to when he was 9 and could run around outside for hours trying to burn off all that energy. It wasn't something he found too worrisome and chalked it up to adjusting and adapting to the new day and age.

Lost in thought Kai arrived in front of Sheila's house and noticed her car was back in the driveway leaving Bonnie inside. Pulling up in his futuristic mobile next to this beat up 70's ride he finally found something that the future seemed to have gotten right. Heading inside he went straight for the bedroom finding Bonnie curled up where he was a few hours ago. Moving restlessly it was apparent Bonnie wasn't sleeping soundly and his brain blast of genius coincided fluently with his tired state of being. Crawling up the bed behind her Kai kicked off his shoes and scooted in, snaking his arm around her stomach and tugging her closer until he felt her snug against him. Blowing out a breath he felt his body relax into the mattress and fade out.

-x—x—x-

A loud chiming in the distance drew in Bonnie's attention as the sound began to move closer, amplifying and reverberating through her skull until it was the only thing she could hear and gasped out coughing to vanquish the sound. Catching her breath Bonnie continued to hear the sound and looked on the bedside table to her phone, answering before it started up again.

"Did I wake you?" Caroline said brightly through the speaker, "you're going to be late!"

"What time is it?" Bonnie mumbled in her disoriented state.

"It's almost 6:30, and everyone's getting here around 7 so let's go – get a move on! I want to see you and yours truly at 7PM sharp."

"Yeah okay," Bonnie nodded before hearing the details of what she said, "wait –"

"See you soon, love you!"

Sighing at the screen she dropped the phone and leaned back – onto Kai's chest.

"When did you get here?" she screeched taken off-guard and scrambled to her feet.

"Couple hours ago, when did you get a phone?"

"I-" Bonnie hesitated knowing she couldn't exactly tell him the events of how she got it but still needed a tidbit of truth, "Jeremy gave it to me at the hospital, he still had my old phone in case I magically made my way back from the dead and needed technology – turns out he was right. But um, the thing is… I really meant to ask you this hours ago so I could come up with a way out of it."

"Ask me what?"

"Well Caroline heard your big announcement about meeting up later to eat and she said she wanted to throw a thank you dinner for saving her mom."

"Didn't _technically_ save her."

"Temporarily got her off course from a rapid ending, and she's feeling grateful. Care's full of emotions and they're always on overdrive as I'm sure you've noticed and this is one of those times."

"Sounds great, who's going?"

"Everyone," Bonnie groaned, "since it's over her mom she got Damon and Elena to agree to be there, along with Stefan, and Jeremy will be there since she decided to have it at the one place I can't seem to get enough of."

"Damon's bedroom?" he answered with a wink and shielded his face laughing at the oncoming attack of a pillow, "but the whole house in general does hold some fond memories – I agree. What time is this shindig happening?"

"Seven."

"Well we better get going," he pushed himself slowly towards the edge of the bed.

"I don't want to go," Bonnie breathed and Kai looked up catching her line of view.

"Why not?"

"Because it is going to be a disaster," she puffed with a slam of her hands against her thighs, "You'll start something, or someone will start something with you, food will be thrown, magic will be let loose, and someone will end up in the hospital."

"Oh, is that how it usually goes when you and your friends have dinner?"

"No I think you'd bring something entirely different to the table."

"It'll be fine," he reassured sitting up.

"If we do this we go there, eat dinner, and leave – no staying for a game night or questionnaire."

"Ooh but I'm so good at the both of those!" Kai bounced on his butt, "what if I agree to be your partner?"

"No deal – we eat dinner and we are out; got it?"

"We'll see," he shrugged, "I mean only time will tell I can't predict the future. Should we leave now?"

"No I wanted to shower and change before we went, I figured I would have a little more time before we had to leave but I'll be quick." Looking him over she added, "You should probably change too – just your shirt will do."

"Why?" he asked looking down.

"Caroline likes to get fancy and formal and… just trust me it'll make more sense when we get there."

"O-kay," he drew out shaking his head grinning.

Bonnie rummaged around the closet deciding on a deep red wine A-line princess V-neck lace-up flare dress; the thin material over her shoulders crossing over her chest to a dangerously low slit down the middle at the start of her stomach subtly covering her with lace crisscrossing. The dress seemed almost risqué in length and cleavage, checking overhead to grab the unopened pair of fishnets before darting out the door and showering for no more than five minutes. When she was dried off and dressed she styled her hair in the longer new curls she was favoring and walked back into the bedroom in search of makeup.

"Well hot damn," Kai catcalled with a loud whistle, "aren't I the luckiest man in town to be accompanying such a fine woman to dinner."

"You're so cheesy, and this is not a date so don't go twisting things around."

"Pretty sure they've all been dates," he pondered with his index to his chin, "but agree to disagree."

"Definitely disagreeing," Bonnie remarked grabbing her makeup bag and spending another five minutes on her eyes adding a nude but shimmering lipstick. Plumping her lips in the mirror she took a step back and turned to Kai towering over her.

"You look nice," Kai graveled leaning in so close she couldn't catch her breath and felt a surge of disequilibrium testing her balance stumbling back a step into the bureau, "you alright, Thumbelina?"

"I'm fine," Bonnie shook off, looking over his new outfit scrapping the blue jeans for light gray ones and a black button up rolled up to his elbows – the material looking similar to denim but much softer "and thank you, so do you."

"You should probably change though."

"What?" she turned checking her reflection, "why?"

"There's no way I'm keeping my hands off you looking like that," he stated shrugging casually, "I'm trying to help you, really."

"Okay that can't happen," Bonnie remarked pushing his chest away, "there will be no innuendos, or lingering stares, or touching of any kind whatsoever. We are going to a place filled with my friends who are overthinking and overanalyzing every little detail and I can't give them any more reasons."

"You should probably change then."

" _Kai,"_ she scoffed trying to walk out the door before he hip-thrusted her into the wall, eyes darkening with each passing second.

Trying to think logically Bonnie inhaled slowly and felt his hand gliding up the stockings under her dress growling quietly in the back of his throat. Fighting the urge to propel into him Bonnie held her ground as his other hands drifted across her bare chest pushing the small sleeve off her shoulder.

"Do you see how easy this is?"

" _Stop it._ "

"Last chance to change your mind," Kai spurred licking his bottom lip with hooded eyes and clucking the tune of jeopardy.

"We're already going to be late."

"Ooh I'm afraid that was the incorrect answer," he said in a dramatic voice with an open smile, "consequences of that action will be later determined."

"I'm keeping a fifteen foot distance from you at all times," Bonnie smiled sweetly and took a breath of assertiveness leaning off the wall into him until she physically moved him back a step, "starting when we step out of the car."

"Good luck with that," he remarked laced with an egotistical certainty that had her glaring and shoulder-bumping him out of the way, going back to the closet and grabbing a half cut leather jacket.

Ignoring Kai's raised eyebrow and growing smirk Bonnie slipped on a pair of slim black heels before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. Stuck in an internal state of panic for the duration of the car ride she blocked Kai out and found herself staring up at the familiar home and couldn't find the motivation to get out of the car.

"So do you want to head in or just eat from in here?" Kai questioned looking her over.

"I'm still debating."

"Come on Bon, rip off the band-aid."

Chewing the side of her lip she made a list of all the ways this night could go wrong, all stemming from Kai's doings, to her friends, to even her own. Since the kiss happened with Jeremy earlier Bonnie has felt like she's been high-strung on energy spending the majority of the day making lists of pros, cons, parallels, and a scale from 1-10 on the level of insanity she's reached – which is pushing a high 7. If Bonnie could have guessed that her day would have escalated from kissing Jeremy, to Kai showing an act of selflessness or kindness… she wasn't sure which adjective surprised her more, and ending in a dinner with the both of them when she was tossing and turning; she would have stayed in bed the entire day.

"Hey!" Elena beamed from outside the window scaring her out of her daydream, feeling a jolt of fear causing her laughter to spill out. "I just got here too Care's probably not going to be happy with our tardiness."

"I know that's why I'm happy you're just getting here too," Bonnie smiled shaking off her nerves and opening the door.

Complimenting her strapless blue floral dress and matching blue cardigan Elena linked her arm through Bonnie's and more or less dragged her to the front door swinging it open and yelling a cheerful ' _we're here!'_ causing Caroline to appear out of thin air.

"Well it's about time," Caroline huffed in a flowing yellow dress, "five more minutes and the table would have been set without the guest of honor to enjoy it."

Bonnie felt her eyebrows rise at the remark and turned to a tickled pink Kai, smiling wide and weaving around Bonnie.

"Thanks Caroline, I'm eager to see how the night goes. And I'm starving."

Eyes twinkling Caroline turned and headed for the kitchen with Kai on her heels, Bonnie's feet planted in the ground when Elena tried following.

"You okay?"

"Not entirely."

"Nervous?"

"Oh yeah."

"Me too," Elena nodded, "want to slip out the door?"

"Absolutely," Bonnie let out honestly, "how long do you think Care will be mad at us for?"

"At least a week."

"And this is a celebration of her mom feeling better…"

"Make that a month," Elena corrected making them both snort and snicker tightening their locked arms and trying to breathe through her nerves as they made their way through the house finding the rest of the group in the library.

"Hey Bonnie," Jeremy said embracing her in a tight hug before she realized he was in front of her, "you look incredible."

"Thanks Jer," Bonnie let out through a weak voice and patted his back, her face starting to heat feeling Kai watching her.

"Even better than earlier, if that's possible," he smiled leaning back to gaze into her eyes and leaned in slightly jerking Bonnie back and letting out an uncomfortable noise and shrugged a shoulder looking at her outfit.

"I figured this was more suited for one of Caroline's lavish dinners, what are we having?"

"I have no idea," he laughed, "She's been ordering things-"

"Hey!"

" _Cooking_ things… all afternoon, so probably a little bit of everything."

"I didn't order _everything_ ," Caroline corrected, "just the essentials that I didn't want to screw up. But all of the side dishes is all me!"

Bonnie looked around Jeremy's silhouette smiling in her direction before Kai caught her attention, staring void of emotion with his head slightly tilted and raised his eyebrows in provocation. Biting the inside of her cheek her eyes darted around the rest of the room and made her way through greeting Damon and Stefan and talking with them for the remainder until Caroline came in with a grand gesture that the food was ready. Pushing through everyone Bonnie was the first to arrive at the table and was almost positive she had beat the system… until she noticed the place cards.

"Seriously, Caroline?"

"What, they were just lying around."

Bonnie ran around the rectangle table, three on each side with one at the head of the table being Stefan; clockwise going Caroline, Jeremy, Elena, and on the opposite side Damon, Bonnie, and Kai.

" _Why,_ " she mumbled slinking into her chair and slouching all the way down as the rest of the party guests made their way in each having a comment about the seating arrangement.

"Why am I across from Elena and not beside her?"

"I should be next to Bonnie."

"So thank you all for coming," Caroline said standing in front of her chair silencing the complaints, "today is a celebration of a temporary victory; my mom is not going to meet a vamped-up super death because of me and that would not have been possible without Kai, so – thank you – and I thought a nice family dinner together would be just what all of us needed."

"Especially since half of us don't know how to act around each other anymore," Damon remarked staring at Elena before leaning forward past Bonnie, "and the person that caused that happens to be at the dinner table too."

"Small world," Kai nodded looking from him to Bonnie, fighting the smile she can tell was itching to curve, "an even _smaller_ world is that I'm already back in this house; must be a creature of habit."

Bonnie's breath caught in her throat feeling Kai's fingers tapping on her knee, grabbing hold of his wrist nervous if she smacked him away it would make a sound. Squeezing gently Bonnie felt a jolt go through her leg kicking out at the sensation, needing to readjust completely and shove his hand away clearing her throat. Feeling a sudden flush of heat Bonnie tried moving the collar away and stretching her neck before losing the jacket and instantly felt the cool air breaking out in goosebumps across her arms. Checking Kai's expression she watched his playful eyes scan her shamelessly and glanced at Jeremy before doing a double take and his look sobering. Following his eye-line she landed on Jeremy staring at her in a way he used to when they were all over each other in the beginning. Giving Bonnie an alluring smile his broken sentences of ' _I miss you_ ' and ' _I love you'_ rang back in her ears causing her to shift and direct her sights on Caroline – who seemed to be watching everything.

"Are we going to eat?"

"Whenever you're ready," she laughed, "everyone dig in!"

Bonnie scanned the packed table filled with big dishes of chicken wings, chicken tenders, rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, a variety of steamed vegetables, a few different options of kebabs with steak or chicken and peppers, biscuits, and a massive rack of ribs in the center.

"What, no dessert?"

"Behind you," she pointed and Bonnie laughed out loud at the variety of sweets from cakes to cookies and a heaping of small pastries displayed across the side table.

" _Awesome_ ," Kai beamed practically bouncing in his seat looking back and forth, "I'm really excited for this."

Smirking at Kai's genuine delight Bonnie dove into whatever was closest and watched everyone else do the same, the chatter and clanking of the silverware off the plates intermingling as side conversations started flowing. They had made it through almost the entire meal without a hitch and Bonnie was just starting to count her blessings when Kai leaned over whispering under her ear and sending a chill down her spine.

" _Your boyfriend's staring at us_."

"No he's not," Bonnie whispered back continuing to eat.

"I bet he's wondering how we passed the time for so long."

" _Stop it._ "

"And why we're still together."

Bonnie snapped her neck to face him completely and could feel her skin heating as she was certain flames were reflecting in her pupils, Kai's mischievous expression looking over hers and pulled one of the pieces of steak off the kebab with his teeth. Glancing around the rest of the table she noticed Damon trying relentlessly to start a conversation with Elena, Jeremy blatantly watching her, and Caroline pretending to chat with Stefan while she really dissected every moment of this dinner – which Bonnie had a hidden inkling she thought was really the reason behind it.

"So how do I go about getting one of these high-tech phones? Bon was going to come along on the conquest getting reacquainted with the world but it seems a Gilbert was way ahead of us."

The fork stopped halfway to her lips; eyes darting to Kai who was grilling Jeremy waiting for him to answer, unable to do anything but count down the internal clock to her undoing.

"Looks like it," Jeremy remarked enticing Kai farther.

"So how was the reunion? I know I saw the initial one here with you on top of some girl but how did it go without those pesky extra variables flying around – did you write out what you were going to say this time?"

"Hilarious, but I don't see how I would have had the time with Bonnie waking me up before the birds had the chance," he replied and Bonnie could feel her entire body deflating into the chair, not knowing who to look at resulting in her watching everyone.

"Yeah she does that," Kai said off the shoulder staring through her before turning back to Jeremy, "so what's up with keeping the phone; were you just compulsively listening to her voice on a loop or was there a less neurotic explanation?"

"When you're in love with someone and they disappear you hold onto whatever pieces of them you can; I wouldn't expect someone who's never experienced love or anything real to understand."

"Well I guess I'm lucky then since apparently it either turns you into a lovesick creep, having a blind dependency, or pining away," Kai retorted chuckling pointing from Jeremy, to Elena, and Damon, "that does not sound too appealing if you ask me."

"It is when you're with the right person."

"And that's Bonnie?"

"Absolutely."

"How are you so sure though," he pondered, "I mean it's been quite some time since the two of you were hot and steamy, there's a chance that fire isn't there anymore."

"It is."

"Mm," Kai shrugged nonchalantly purposefully goading Jeremy to stir and rouse something within him and it seemed to be working, Bonnie looking around the rest of the table as everyone's attention was drawn into the discussion.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?"

"No."

"I bet you'd love to correct me," Kai urged grinning when Jeremy clenched his teeth, "set me straight, fill in the missing pieces –"

" _Kai._ "

"Show me what an ass I'm being," he continued, "I swear it'll feel so good after."

Bonnie's pleading eyes looked over to Caroline who had her chin resting on her knuckles fully invested looking back and forth between the boys and catching her eyes on one of the turns, a laugh-turned-cough spilling out and covering her mouth with a napkin. Trying to catch Jeremy's attention he couldn't seem to pull out of his tunnel vision and reached over grabbing Kai's wrist in a last ditch effort. Turning his head a fraction Kai looked down at her hand and trailed up to her face, witnessing his formerly playful eyes cloud over before looking away.

"Unless you're just full of it; I mean hey I get it young love and high school sweethearts and all of that… I guess. And it's natural to miss someone more when they're gone so it's okay; I see where you're getting confused."

"I'm not confused," Jeremy argued as his posture shifted and Kai used the hand she wasn't gripping to pick at his food. "I know what I feel, and what Bonnie feels for me."

"Mhm," Kai murmured through his mouthful of mashed potatoes and Bonnie's heartrate spiked into overdrive sensing Jeremy was close to throwing their kiss in Kai's face. "And your point of reference is from… nine months ago?"

Thinking quickly Bonnie let go of Kai's arm and pushed her feet farther underneath the table until the tips of her toes were on top of Jeremy's. Darting over to her his smile widened and she gave him a half smile in response, blocking out her other thoughts and focusing on silencing him.

" _No, t-"_ Jeremy choked out a pained sound that Bonnie had to turn away from landing on Kai's ticked-off expression.

Looking from her to Jeremy he wrapped his hand around Bonnie's wrist and squeezed, a sharp stab of having her magic siphoned breaking her spell on Jeremy as his fit of coughing drowned out her yelp.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

" _Today_ , you _freak!_ What the hell was that!"

"I thought I heard you correctly."

" _Yes_ , Bonnie and I have something you'll never have with another person and this morning reinforced and cemented that bond."

Caroline's surprised expression towards Kai drew in Bonnie's attention, her wide eyes drifting slowly over to Bonnie and her mouth forming a small ' _o'_. Glancing at Jeremy's satisfied grin in his direction Bonnie felt her heart beating through her chest and felt a wave of uneasiness not wanting to look in Kai's direction. Of all the ways to word it she was pretty sure Jeremy intentionally picked the one way that could be misconstrued and set Kai off.

"Somehow I don't think it had quite as much _passion_ as you're trying to portray, but why don't we ask the one who was there," he turned and felt his eyes her profile, "on a scale of 1-10 –"

"Ten being how badly I want to talk about something else I'd say I'm at a fifteen," Bonnie looked around the table with erratic eyes hoping someone would throw her a bone when of all people – Stefan spoke up.

"Care didn't you have something else planned too?"

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed radiating with exhilaration, "okay so I might have found the coolest game for us to play."

Groans and grumbles were scattered across the table displaying their own views on the matter.

"I don't-"

"Oh come on you haven't even heard it yet, it's called _Murder Mystery_ and it's like the real-live version of _Clue_. Actually it's exactly like _Clue_ because I love that game so I copied all of characters, weapons, and rooms. Everyone's identification and special piece of information about the murder is inside an envelope including one with a skull  & crossbones who will play the victim. We'll all draw the envelopes one at a time… or all at the same time – and then the investigation is on!"

"Yes, let's play," Kai said cheerfully slapping the table for added effect causing Caroline to practically skip out of her chair into the next room before anyone could stop her.

"Kai, why," Bonnie groaned looking at the empty doorway and back at him, "we eat dinner and leave, remember?"

"Things have gotten pretty interesting since we came back here, and I think it's just getting started," he whispered out the last couple words and Bonnie felt a twist of apprehension in her gut knowing Kai was spot on that the hits had only just started coming.

"Okay who's first?" Caroline yelled sliding into the room and shaking around a giant fishbowl full of manila envelopes, Bonnie exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as Kai reached inside pulling out the first identity.


	10. Chapter 10

"Read the introduction card."

"You read it."

"Stefan you're the victim which means you know all of the secrets and whodunits making you the mandatory host. See this envelope right here? This means I am now a potential suspect in the investigation and would be deemed a cheater if I did the Hosts job."

Stefan sat at the table staring over with a smile in the corner of his lips swiping the paper off the table and clearing his throat.

" _Murder of A Millionaire in the Salvatore Manor;_ _you may be an heir to the estate._ All of your presences have been requested at Salvatore Manor for an evening filled with mystery and mayhem in order to solve the heinous murder of the late Rich A. Salvatore. Rich had his closest friends, family and confidants attending tonight for a big announcement but was unable to make it that far, the murderer taking his life between dinner and dessert and later discovered in his car. It is up to you to piece together and solve the crime while avoiding becoming the next victim. You guys got all of that? Okay, now for some of the background information; the envelopes you picked are your new identities-"

"And these little pink and blue stickers made it so there's no switching characters," Caroline stated.

"And each has a ' _character breakdown'_ booklet letting you know details about your character, your relationship with the victim and how you should act. There will be specific actions, arguments, and various points that will need to be played out so you really need to take on your new role."

"I _may_ have grabbed a few props to really hone in on the character which we will all be wearing."

"So this thing will be broken down into two stages; the first is getting in character and intermingling over drinks to feel each other out and the second is breaking off into an investigation of the house. You'll all have the option to check out rooms alone, with someone, or even in a group but be wary – getting too close to someone can result in your death. The assailant will have on a red sticker on one of their props and the point of the game is to investigate your surroundings, profile the suspects, avoid suspicion, and catch a killer. You can lie, manipulate, and persuade but you have to act out and follow what's written. Once there's enough information found you can make a public accusation where both parties argue their point – or has an alibi using one of the cards that'll be scattered throughout the rooms – and the rest of the group will vote on who they think did it. The chosen one will be eliminated and has to show if they are marked with the red sticker it'll will continue until they are found or succeeds in killing everyone else."

"How do we all meet up?" Elena asked.

"Oh!" Caroline pepped, "I found this App where you can send music and different sound effects like sirens and alarms, the weather, and animal noises to someone if they have the App too. I figured if we all download it then when someone thinks they know what happened they can send out whatever sound they like with the caption underneath of what room to go to. Kai I know you don't have a phone so I am going to use Stefan's, Bonnie will you mine, and you can use hers."

"Oh really," Bonnie let out in a laugh, knowing there was nothing important on it but hasn't even had it for a full 12 hours.

"Yes, and you can use mine; that way we're all slightly uncomfortable giving away and using someone else's phone," she smiled switching around everyone's as they all downloaded the App and added each other onto it.

Kai needed a little extra help keeping up with the rest but was the first to test it out, a flash coming up on Caroline's phone showing Bonnie's name at the top and a ' _click to deny'_ button before a loud catcall whistle blew through the speaker. Damon's phone sounded next with a baby crying followed by a chicken noise playing from Jeremy's.

"Man I need one of these babies; I would use this App all the time."

"One of the main reasons why you won't be getting one," Bonnie stated and looked back at the envelope in her hands, "so can we check our new identities?"

"Go for it."

Tearing them open everyone pulled out a booklet and ID badge showing their new identity, Bonnie shaking her head through a bashful smile seeing Miss Scarlet looking back at her. Going around the table everyone held up their badges; Kai as Colonel Mustard, Caroline as Mrs. Peacock, Jeremy as Professor Plum, Elena as Mrs. White, and Damon as Mr. Green. Caroline darted into another room and appeared moments later holding a bunch of colored props handing out items to everyone that coincided with their character.

"A sexy maid's outfit?"

"I _could_ have made you the old lady Mrs. White like in the game but I thought _slutty sexy maid_ sounded so much better; it's just the front apron part so you can put it right over your dress."

"Check out this eyewear that I get to sport," Kai laughed sticking the one eye glass on his eye and cocking an eyebrow; the expression triggering Bonnie's laughter. "And I get this yellow tie, and belt holster thing that goes across my chest; sweet."

Bonnie looked over her own props of a flashy pearl necklace and bracelets along with sparkly earrings, a small red purse and deep red lipstick almost matching her dress perfectly. Caroline adjusted her blue peacock feather hat that looked like it was high fashion in the 20's, popped a long cigarette holder in her mouth and swung around a fluffy black scarf. Elena bopped around the table zipping up the apron over the front of her dress readjusting the small white cap and twirling around the feather duster. Smiling wide she watched Jeremy slide on a pair of glasses and purple bowtie looking charming over his plain white long sleeve and snorted at Damon rocking a green tie and matching fedora hat.

"Okay, I am liking this idea a lot more," Bonnie admitted laughing wholeheartedly as her eyes scanned her group of friends.

"See it's going to be great!" Caroline bounced, "and we haven't even gotten any drinks in us yet, everyone look over your booklets and get acquainted with your new self, I'll be right back."

The booklet was broken down into three different parts for the character; their background, personality, and secrets. Bonnie was surprised there wasn't more to know about Miss Scarlet other than she was the victim's current love interest and a model. The personality made the butterflies start fluttering around in her stomach as she went through how she was going to be able to play someone who is – seductive & charming, vibrant and doesn't let anyone see her real self, sexy & confident, manipulative with what emotions she shows; always planned and a true femme fatale. There was also two bullets in bold saying ' _solve the mystery'_ and ' _avoid suspicion'_ which she thought was almost ironic; here was Bonnie thinking all she had to do was get through dinner and now her along with Kai are going to be taking on completely new personalities and intermingling with _everybody_. Heading for the room on the opposite side of where Caroline had left Bonnie quickly checked her reflection in the full length mirror tucked in the corner, spreading the _Divine Wine_ color across her lips along with her extravagant jewelry already feeling more in character.

"How do I look?" Kai's voice asked close behind her as she jumped and turned towards him, not hating the ' _tough guy_ ' look the black holster strap across his chest and belt was giving him.

"Like an old man in a yellow tie."

"This is the brightest item of clothing I've seen since I've been back; this generation really favors the bare minimum of colorful flare. But come on, this oracle? I look like a detective in the 20's."

"I was thinking Mr. Monopoly," Bonnie shrugged, "but yours works too."

"Mine works so much better," Kai said with a bright smile looking her over, "this is going to be fun _._ "

"That's one word to describe it."

"What would you use?"

"Terrifying, nerve-wracking, _a night I'll want to forget_ but really who can say."

" _Miss Scarlet_ ," Kai dropped his voice an octave lower stepping closer, "I think this will be a night you'll want to remember."

Bonnie breathed in to speak but the undertone seemed to be throwing her off more than the statement itself; together leaving her at a loss for words before snapping herself out of it and channeling her inner temptress – amplified by taking on personalities from various TV and movie characters. Gazing up into his relaxed stare she licked her lips drawing his eye-line down and smiled like she knew a scandalous secret about him, pushing her chest out an inch and tilting her chin to the side.

"Why do you say that, Colonel?"

Keeping his face void of emotion he put his hands in his back pockets mimicking her movements to puff out his chest and breathed in deep, "Do you really want to know?"

"I do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she uttered softly and he leaned in close not touching her but managing to make her feel like he was all over her.

" _I'm psychic_."

Fighting the urge to laugh and break character Bonnie stared into Kai's eyes and had to give him credit for not showing his boyish joking manner that he was just displaying; his look staying focused and intense making her heartrate pick up. Refusing to be the first one to back down she forced her mind to get back in the game and batted her lashes.

"Then why don't you tell me my future?"

"I could, but I think the surprise will be the best part."

"Mm, I'm not the type of girl who likes surprises," Bonnie let out with a pout and watched a flash of fire behind Kai's eyes before his cool exterior masked over.

"I find that hard to believe."

"Okay everyone – drinks, costumes, action!" Caroline yelled drawing Bonnie's eyes through the door to the next room as she put the flutes on a separate side table along with a large pitcher of sangria and glasses with straws and tiny umbrellas. "I would love to get acquainted with you all a little better; my name is Mrs. Peacock and I'm Rich's ex-wife. I know most of you through passing, some a little more while others are still a bit of a mystery. Please, feel free to drink and eat there's plenty to go around."

"That is very kind of you Mrs. Peacock, thank you," Jeremy said stepping past her grabbing a flute and finding his way back to her side, "My name is Professor Plum and I was Mr. Salvatore's psychiatrist. He was an outstanding gentleman who was taken down in the prime of his life; it is truly a shame."

"He was _murdered_ , there's no sugar-coating it Professor. What we are looking at here is an act of a personal vendetta someone held, and they're in the room with us right now," Damon argued looking over to Bonnie before going back to his audience, "or in the next one."

Maneuvering past Kai she flowed confidently back into the room with her chin raised and held out her hand fingers down like she was showing off a ring as a greeting, "Miss Scarlet; _charmed_ I'm sure. I've been seeing Rich now for almost a year and we were just about to take the next step, I just can't believe something like this could happen!"

"It's just so tragic," Elena sniffed, "one minute he's here and talking and everything is right in the world and the next he's just…"

Sobbing loudly she leaned into the closest person – being Damon – and let out fake painful sounds as held her close. Making her way over to the drinks Bonnie debated being fancy and taking the champagne as Miss Scarlet would have done but her pent-up nerves had her reaching for the pitcher of fruits and a variety of liquors, pouring a hefty amount and topping it off with a straw and mini umbrella before turning back to her audience.

"I am just so grateful to be around all of the people that my love thought so highly of, you were all truly important in his life."

"Miss Scarlet, it is no trouble," Jeremy soothed coming to her aid and laying his hand across hers, "what is most important is to surround yourself with comforting people who understand what you're going through."

Not wanting to fall out of character but feeling his stare on her Bonnie glanced over Jeremy's shoulder and found Kai, his face giving away nothing but his rigid posture apparent even from this distance. Tapping Jeremy's hand she whispered a ' _thank you_ ' and moved onto Caroline, watching out of the corner of her eye as Kai moved to Elena sniffing against Damon's shoulder and became her new focal point. Zoning in an out of the conversation Bonnie found herself more interested in what Kai was doing, his dark and brooding traits radiating off of him drawing in other's attention as well. Bonnie weaved in an out of conversations, her new personality starting to flow more fluently with each passing drink and found that she was even enjoying herself when Stefan rang a dinner bell.

"Stage two! It's time for the investigation; someone you have been getting to know and letting into your mind is a cold-blooded murderer and it's up to one of you to crack the case. There's ten potential rooms where the crime could have taken place; the library, kitchen, dining room, lounge/living room, ballroom and hall we're making one since we don't have two giant open rooms that have no real purpose, the billiard room, the study which we're considering my room, the conservatory that we made the porch since you won't find a sunroom here, and we added the master bedroom. They are all written in the back of your notebooks, along with the weapons and everyone's names. You can investigate rooms together or on your own; there are clues and cards hidden all over the rooms so it is up to you which tactic you think would be smarter."

"Miss Scarlet, would you like to accompany me to the library? I know Mr. Salvatore spent a lot of his time in there," Jeremy asked before Stefan had finished his sentence.

Pursing her lips with a look of disinterest Bonnie scanned the room curving the corner of her lips, "thank you Professor but I'm going to go solo on this one; someone murdered the man I love and I need to uncover every lead I find."

With all of their farewells Bonnie watched Damon and a sobbing Elena go off together, Caroline and Jeremy go their separate ways and stared at Kai with eyebrows raised as he moved down a hall to the left and turned out of sight. Rocking on her heels and contemplating which course of action she wanted to take, Bonnie crossed the room filling up another glass of sangria and making a small plate of pastries before taking a right out of the room and heading for the front porch.

Bonnie wasn't sure how long she was out there, the comfortable silence mixing with her buzzed lightheadedness brightening her state of mind and forgetting about her troubles momentarily breathing in the fresh night air. Balancing between eating the tiny delectable desserts and enjoying her carefree state of mind Bonnie twirled around moving across the concrete and tripped backwards over a crack falling into someone.

"That's an easy way to hurt yourself," Kai said in a voice of authority, "wouldn't want to lose both you and your husband in one night."

"He wasn't my husband," Bonnie corrected feeling his hands tighten for a fraction before standing her upright and spinning her back around, "but we were in love."

"I know, well I know he spent a frequent amount of money on you which I concluded was because you were a significant woman in his life. Being his lawyer gave me open access to his funds and how he managed his money; he seemed to distribute his spending's in almost a compulsive sort of way."

"Yeah Rich was a stickler for details, things had to be specifically how he wanted I guess I just got used to it. Almost as quickly I got used to him not being around," Bonnie sighed turning away and walking over to the brick wall where her drink sat.

"Where did he go?" Kai questioned closing the distance and hovering close behind.

"Everywhere," she laughed out a sad sound, "he had private jets and yachts at the ready to take him all around the world, millionaires are busy people after all."

"Sounds lonely," he murmured against her hair leaning his chest into her throwing her equilibrium off.

"I'm sure he kept himself busy," Bonnie said faraway not focusing on her words over the growing awareness of him against her as he brushed her hair away from the side of her face, turning her head meeting potent eyes.

"I wasn't talking about him."

Having Kai talk about her state of loneliness over a loved one from her past seemed to be an eerie ' _fiction imitating reality'_ moment that she was struggling to fully take in on account of Kai's alternate personality. There was no playful undertone or toothy grin threatening to spread that Bonnie had gotten so used to she was fairly certain Kai didn't know how _not_ to act that way but this situation was disproving her theory completely. Bonnie could feel his sexual and manly tension like he was intentionally putting it out there for everyone to pick up on and she would be lying if it wasn't drawing her in.

"Do I look like the kind of girl who gets lonely, Colonel?" Bonnie teased over her shoulder and Kai pressed his chest into her back pushing her down, left hand trailing down her arm and landing near her drink as he towered behind her.

"You look like the type that demands attention," he soothed against the back of her neck.

"You're right about that," Bonnie breathed as his other hand trailed up her leg stopping where her dress ended gripping the fabric.

" _I can give it to you_."

"Who says I want it from you?" Bonnie closed her eyes as the tipsy high mixed with her raging sexual low had her vision momentarily spinning when he thrust into her and a breathless gasp left her lips.

"I told you, I'm psychic."

"You're going to need to do better than that to impress _me_ ," Bonnie spoke softly, arching her back into him feeling triumphant when a noise grumbled in the back of his throat and stood at a sensually slow pace, turning to face him in the same fashion as his fingers played with her fishnets near the hem of her dress.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Do you need it to be?"

Kai raised an eyebrow as a hint of a smile threatened to show, Bonnie herself having the urge to wiggle around in jubilation over how sexual and confident she was acting. With the help of a little liquid courage and knowing it was all pretend Bonnie found herself wondering how far she could take this and felt an internal wager brewing over who would crack first.

"Oh things are always better when something's at stake, Miss Scarlet; makes the whole affair more rousing. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I too find it stimulating; there's something about the forbidden or unattainable that just seems so… _tempting_ ," Bonnie winked flashing a mischievous smile with a flip of her hair and strolled out of his invisible force-field, exhaling through her nose as this newfound power felt like an adrenaline rush coursing through her system.

Knowing she held the upper hand Bonnie made her way back over to where Kai stood, grabbing her drink and notebook and heading back to the door. Bonnie felt a little disappointed that she couldn't find any clues or cards in a place where the victim was last before being found in his car; her gut telling her she was on the right track. Stumbling slightly from her heels on the welcome mat Bonnie reached for the door catching her balance and looked over her shoulder to Kai now a foot away and making no attempt to help. Taking a step towards her Bonnie faced him dead on and inhaled slow as he inched his way closer resting his hand high on the doorframe near the porchlight.

"I was thinking you and I should partner up on this thing, solve it together."

"Sorry, I work alone."

"Maybe you can make an exception for me; I'll make it worth your while."

"And what makes you so certain?" Bonnie asked with disinterest looking away and held her breath when his hand slid up the siding getting dangerously close to her face before leaning back and holding up a card. Eager and wide eyed Bonnie stared at the card in the same hand Kai just had against the frame of the door giving him a side glance, "how did you see it up there?"

"I noticed it when I walked out," he responded with a stony expression, giving over the card as an offering which Bonnie greedily accepted, opening the small white card reading _The Billiard Room_ in bold black cursive.

Opening her purse and sticking the card inside next to Caroline's cell phone she took a moment to scan through the notebook flipping past the pages of her personality to the "actions, arguments, and points to get across" page and one of the first bullet points read, ' _Get closer to Colonel Mustard – lawyer who handled Rich Salvatore's Millions (motive).'_ Laughing out loud Bonnie looked back up to Kai shaking her head, making a mental note to bring this up to Caroline at some point in the night and tucked the notebook away.

"I may have use for you yet, Colonel Mustard; where do you think we should go next?"

"The master bedroom."

"What?" Bonnie let slip trying to imagine herself in this mindset with a happy buzz going back up to Damon's bedroom with Kai; a bad idea all around. "Oh, I can't – the pain is still too fresh to go and investigate our room as a potential crime scene. What about the dining room? He went missing around dinner, after all."

Kai nodded saying nothing, the silence signaling her to move and opened the door leading that way back to the dining room finding Jeremy consoling Elena at the table; her initial reaction to freeze and run in the other direction taking a back seat when they both looked up at them.

"Mrs. White," Bonnie said in a consoling voice walking over and rubbing the side of her face, "you have got to pull yourself together sweetheart, we are trying to figure out how this could have happened tonight and your crying isn't helping."

Scoffing a whiny screechy sound Elena shot out of her chair as her features turned crazed, "your carefree blasé attitude isn't helping _either_ Miss Scarlet."

"I'm not blasé," Bonnie shrugged nonchalantly and caught Kai's smirk out of her peripheral.

"I think you did it!" Elena spewed catching Bonnie off-guard quick on her feet to turn the topic around.

"Why would I want to murder the man I loved? I'm still in shock over what's happened, I'm staying strong over this tragedy but you on the other hand," she tsk'd, "for Rich's maid you seem really torn up over this."

"I worked for Mr. Salvatore for years, he was a wonderful person who deserved more than what he settled for."

Bonnie turned her head slightly, corner of her lips curving at the insinuation and wanted to laugh over how much fun she was having, "I hope you don't mean me."

"I mean _everything._ "

"And he would be better suited with the help?" Bonnie wondered and Elena broke character as her smile spread wider through her mouth opened in shock.

Laughing once and snorting Elena let out a high-pitched scoff, turning away with her hand out dramatically spewing words of nonsense and walking straight into Kai's chest. Bonnie kept her eyes on them as she made her way over to the table, making herself another glass of sangria and almost embarrassed that she was able to pick up on little details like Kai trailing his fingers across Elena's back in a soothing way or that he rarely broke eye-contact when he was in a conversation with someone. Jeremy came over trying to distract her with small talk but Bonnie's tipsy one-track mind seemed to be only focused on one thing – and it was not finding all of the clues to win the game.

Moving on to the dessert table Bonnie drowned out Jeremy while eavesdropping on the other couple in the room behind her; hearing Kai's quiet gravelly voice in hushed tones letting her know how close they were huddled together. Feeling the sway of two drinks within the hour Bonnie put down her glass and filled up a plate of little pastries, the three that she ate earlier doing nothing to quench her sweet tooth. Checking out the giant tier of cupcakes at the end Bonnie felt almost bad ruining it by taking one but she couldn't resist the top one coated in a dark red icing, lifting it and finding a small card underneath.

"Ha!" Bonnie exclaimed shimmying around opening the card which read ' _lead pipe'_ and grabbed her drink spinning around to everyone in a grand gesture, "it seems my presence is needed elsewhere, goodbye gentlemen, Mrs. White."

Bonnie had no idea why but she was starting to really get into this game, wanting to investigate each and every room and find all of the clues to figure it out before anyone else could. The brooding yellow-tie-wearing distraction was definitely a problem for her tonight, but the worst of it all was that it was one of the few times Bonnie wasn't in any physical danger, just emotional. For whatever reason she kept picturing Kai and Elena in a tight embrace and the way he looked at her so focused on what she was saying; Bonnie had to wonder if that was part of his character or if that's just the way Kai converses with people.

"Hey," Kai hollered running down the hall to catch up with her, "why did you take off?"

"Well we don't want anyone knowing about our little secret, do we?" Bonnie hummed.

"Which secret would that be?"

" _The only one we have;_ that we're working together."

"Oh right, can't have anyone figuring that out," he nodded once, his blank expression still showing the laced sarcasm underneath, "so where were you headed?"

"The ballroom."

"Why?"

"Big room, plenty of places to hide a clue where most people wouldn't think to look," she shrugged like it was no big deal but her tone said otherwise, giving him a last look before continuing down the hall.

"Huh," Kai commented, "fancy."

"I'll say," Bonnie breathed taking in the enormous room with flowing drapes covering a wall of windows and chandeliers overhead in a line down to the other side. Kicking off her shoes she twirled her way across half of the dance floor and stopped when music starting to fill the room, looking over at Kai pressing buttons on a remote. "I wouldn't expect a military man to know how to dance."

"Then shame on you."

Cocking an eyebrow she sipped her drink casually as Kai crossed the floor to her, taking the oracle off of his eye and sticking it in his pocket before putting out his hand to take.

"Colonel Mustard I don't think I've ever seen you without your oracle," Bonnie stated not comfortable with how much more attractive he looked in just the tie and holster.

"Only take it off when I think I'm going to break it."

With his hand still out for the taking Bonnie sucked in her bottom lip looking from his hand to his expressionless face and held up her drink showing she couldn't accept his hand. Without a second thought Kai grabbed the drink from her and finished the last half in two gulps.

"Hey!"

Sliding the purse off her shoulder he placed both on a side table and slid across the floor taking her hand in a twirl and gliding across the room. They started out playful, Bonnie's giggles and squeals spilling out as Kai moved effortlessly with the music leading her in every direction while she spun into his chest vibrating from laughter. As one song bled into the next there was a brief span of time where Bonnie drifted away from where she was, what was happening outside of this _Murder Mystery_ game, and let herself enjoy one of the things she has missed most in the world.

"So how well can you dance, really?" Bonnie questioned.

"Why, do you want to battle?"

Bonnie smirked noting another moment Kai couldn't resist and temporarily broke character, but in his defense she was curious to see if Kai had any type of rhythm outside the basic moves. Running her hand up his shirt buttons she leaned backwards arching her back ready to plant her hand on the ground but Kai caught on quick and snaked his arm behind her back leaning down and touching foreheads before pulling her back up flush against him.

"No, I just want to see if you can keep up," Bonnie breathed with her forehead still resting against his.

"I can handle whatever you throw at me."

"Even the slow, intimate, _lifting-girls-all-around-the-room-and-caressing-each-other_ dancing?"

"Even that."

If Kai was able to pull off any of those choreographed duet routines then 1: Bonnie was in trouble and 2: she was going to have to get to the bottom of who he learned them with. The cue of the new soft and sensual song triggered Bonnie's motivation swiveling around feeling his jeans against her thin dress; raising her right leg and leaning in the opposite direction towards the ground with her arms outstretched like a bird as Kai's arm wrapped around her stomach and put the other on her shoulder to keep her steady. Continuing with her body's fluid momentum Bonnie dropped her leg bending to move under his arm that was on her shoulder bringing her into Kai's left side and ran her hand across his upper back and around his neck bringing his face directly to hers.

Taking the lead Kai took two steps to the right and swung her into his movements with a small dip, spinning her around and lifting her over his right shoulder in the same movement taking her by utter shock. With one hand on the back of her left thigh and the other around her stomach Kai managed to give Bonnie the long awaited moment of feeling weightless as he spun in circles slowly lowering until she was back on her feet. Kai kept his arm around her as she jumped moving across the floor feeling like she was wearing moon shoes from Kai holding her weight and twirled out of his grasp giving them some distance before running back and leaping wrapping her legs around his torso. Gliding her hands around his neck and hair Kai tightened his hold on her back and leaned forward, Bonnie breathing out a sigh falling backwards and running her hands down his face and up over her stomach as she swayed from one side to the other. Bonnie could swear she felt a pang of euphoria as she closed her eyes drifting in mid-air feeling Kai's arm leisurely bringing her back up until there was no space between them.

"Where'd you learn that?" Bonnie murmured breathing heavily through closed lids.

"Military school."

Eyes darting open Bonnie had to come back down to Earth and recall what current role-playing game they were invested in. "You know for your sake, I really hope you're wrong."

"Yeah I didn't put much thought into that, I'm distracted."

Bonnie stared into Kai's dark gaze inches from her own, an unfamiliar sensation of being at ease in his presence jolting her nerves so fiercely her legs were shaking around him. Sliding her hand down his chest she moved back a fraction and could feel Kai's heart hammering from the adrenaline but wouldn't have been able to tell based off his coolheaded front; Bonnie's core twisting for the first time wanting to see that fire reflecting in his pupils. Time seemed to slow down almost swaying to the vibrations of the music and Bonnie couldn't decipher if that was just the sangria's making her night better or something else entirely.

Fisting Kai's shirt she tried holding onto her rationale; the set reasons and logical basis for why this course of action is not a path Bonnie should be strolling down when an obnoxious alarm started playing from inside Kai's pocket. A second later her purse started chiming across the room too far away to hear what the sound was but the abrupt change was enough to snap her out of her daze and unlocked her legs quickly scrambling off of him. Kai stared at her a moment longer and lazily reached into his jeans for his phone, holding it up between them as a smile spread wide.

"I swear Damon has a natural talent for this. Do you think he can sense when you're feeling a certain type of way… or is it just with me?" Kai sniggered and sobered, clearing his throat, "what I meant was – Mr. Green is requesting our presence in the library."

"You go on ahead I'll catch up with you in a minute."

"Is something wrong?"

"Not at all, I just need to gather my things."

"Do you not want the Professor to see us together?" he rumbled and Bonnie felt a wave of heat hit her blazing through her extremities, "do you have a thing for him?"

"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Bonnie dismissed unconcerned.

"It is," Kai growled low sending a vibration up her spine as he stepped forward towering over her, "I find it very disconcerting."

"Oh Colonel, so charming," Bonnie smiled with two quick pats against his chest, "see you in the library."

Looking over her every feature like he was about to devour her Bonnie fought the urge to do the same and stared him down until Kai pulled the oracle out of his pocket readjusting it over his and strode past her with the same strict and professional walk he was strutting earlier. She had to give herself at least a solid minute to gather her thoughts more than the items snatching the small purse off the table and hurried out of the room, making it halfway down the hall before she realized the shoes were still back there. Pivoting a full 360 Bonnie was taken aback finding Jeremy hot on her heels.

"Hello Miss Scarlett," he snickered moving in too close propelling Bonnie back a step which she played off as walking backwards and continued down the hallway, making it to the library in another minute or two.

"Well it's about time," Damon bellowed from down below near the couches, "if you two are done making us all wait there's a murder that we're trying to solve."

"You don't need to remind me, _Mr. Green_ ," Bonnie said in a brazen tone, descending the steps and slipping into _Miss Scarlet's_ personality avoiding Kai's presence as she met Damon head on, "and who do you think is the deranged lunatic that did this to my sweet Rich?"

"Colonel Mustard," Damon sneered turning and pointing at Kai dramatically, his eyebrows turning down in doubt at the accusation as everyone looked to them.

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that you're a trained murderer, _Colonel_ and that it would have come easiest to you."

"Both facts, but were also true before the dinner – or last week for that matter."

"So what's your accusation?" Bonnie questioned, feeling less than thrilled that Kai is the first potential person to be eliminated.

"I accuse Colonel Mustard of killing Mr. Salvatore in the library, with a gun."

"Ah, you almost got me Greeny, but if you paid a little closer attention you would have noticed I always carry a knife on my persons, not a gun. It's a simple mistake, assuming I would be strapped on account of my title. But let's spin this around a little, shall we? How did you say you knew the victim?"

"I'm his accountant."

"The money man," Kai nodded, "the one who dabbles in the funds and knows the ins and outs of his worth and savings. That's got to be a rush, seeing all of Mr. Salvatore's money piling up while yours is dwindling away faster than you can pay off the bookies… oh – was that not supposed to be common knowledge?"

Damon's character angry turned to his very _real_ simmering rage as his eyes turned to slits gritting his teeth but not able to deny it meaning it must have been a character trait in his booklet. Looking around the room everyone stared between the two men skeptically, weighing out their options before the public vote took place.

"All in favor that Colonel Mustard is the killer," Stefan vocalized and Kai's eyes trailed over to her – and then next to her – smirking deviously when she kept her hand down while Jeremy raised his.

"And those in favor of Mr. Green," Elena's was the first hand in the air causing Caroline to break character and snort loudly when she couldn't hold in her laughter, lifting her hand as well followed by Bonnie.

"Alright Mr. Green, show us the mark of the killer," Stefan vocalized and Damon muttered a line of pent up incoherence flipping around his tie and showing the inside of his unmarked fedora. "Ooh, and the killer survives the first round."

"Not for long," Elena spoke up, "because _I_ know who the real killer is - Mrs. Peacock also in the library with a knife."

" _What_?" Caroline breathed in harshly putting a hand to her chest, "I would never!"

"Oh no, _ex-wife?_ Former lover and partner to his millions; I wonder where I got the idea from. Also I found this clue right here, which reads: _Intellects, academics, & the enlightened find this to be their sanctuary_ which I believe means the library."

"I haven't talked to Rich in months or seen him for almost a year since moving on with my life. Although I'm not surprised to see that you haven't left his side Mrs. White."

" _Cat fight,_ " Kai whispered moving beside her and Bonnie had to do a double take checking Kai to her left and Jeremy to her right before stepping forward and touching both girls on the shoulders.

" _Ladies,_ let's not be catty," Bonnie said in a ' _pleasantly rude'_ voice making a face at Stefan to do his thing.

"Let's put it to a vote; all those in favor of Mrs. Peacock being the killer?"

Bonnie's hand was up immediately, looking over her shoulder at Kai with a hard stare; his head tilting before lifting his too.

"Are you _serious?_ " Caroline uttered dumbfounded with everyone taking off her little blue peacock hat proving there's no red sticker on that or the scarf, "you all just killed off a grieving ex-wife over a slutty maid; heartless. Well I guess now it's down to four so you all need to step it up or you'll be the next innocent victim taken out during your prime."

"Wow," Kai chuckled walking over and placing the hat back on her head, "you were an outstanding Mrs. Peacock."

" _Thank you_ Colonel Mustard, I thought so too," Caroline nodded simply and Bonnie noticed her expression shift mouth curving genuinely giving her the impression Kai gave Care one of his dashing smiles.

Everyone started getting back into their characters, Stefan and the eliminated victims filing out as the rest lingered.

"I think you made a mistake, Miss Scarlet," Jeremy said with a sad shake of his head, "I know Mrs. Peacock quite well and she would never hurt anyone."

"Oh people can surprise you," Kai said stepping into the conversation, "I've seen it happen once or twice myself."

"Colonel Mustard," Jeremy retorted giving Kai a once over, "you on the other hand I would say is definitely capable or murder."

"A+ for you, Professor; was it my military background that gave me away?"

"No, you just have one of those looks," grabbing Bonnie's arm Jeremy leaned into her ear not bothering to step away from Kai giving her the strong urge to close her eyes and pretend she wasn't here. "Want to stick around after this?"

Pushing him away with a hand to his chest Bonnie avoided Kai's tension and focused on Jeremy, going with her default rouse of the night.

"Professor Plum! How dare you, I am trying to figure out who murdered the man I love I have no room for interferences. Now if you don't mind I would like to get back to the investigation, unless there was something else?"

Jeremy's blank stare turned to Kai and stood tall taking on the typical _macho_ exterior, Bonnie's eyes flickering over to Kai as well and felt a spike of distress witnessing the same violent undercurrent running through his features that she's seen on him before. Before overthinking it Bonnie squeezed in between them facing Jeremy and cocked an eyebrow, giving him one of her most steely expressions until he backed down. With a few parting words Elena hooked her arm around Jeremy and made their way out with Bonnie close behind, stopping on the steps noticing Kai wasn't with her. She had to give herself a full 45 second pep talk on how and why she should keep her head in the game, feet trudging down the steps and dragging her back until Bonnie was in front of him.

"You ready?"

"I don't know, I think Mrs. White may have been on to something with that clue," Kai murmured rubbing his chin in deep thought, "it does narrow down the potential murder scenes quite a bit."

"That's a good point," Bonnie agreed, strolling throughout the giant surroundings looking through small spaces scattered about as she went back up the steps rounding the corner checking the bookcases, " _if I was a clue where would I be?"_

" _Hiding_ ," Kai whispered on the back of her neck making her jump and stumble back into the books, "why, would you prefer it wide out in the open for the world to see?"

"Of course, it would make things much easier."

"Everyone would be able to see it for themselves and come up with their own conclusions not just left speculating in the dark."

"Exactly, it's _real_ when it's right in front of you."

"Like you and the Doc," Kai said casually hitting Bonnie with her internal fear of where this was headed; the sexual temptress slowly disappearing as her heart beat quickened. "Everything is _open_ and _out there_ and no one has to wonder ' _what's going on there?'_ since every sexy secret is discussed at the dinner table."

"But it's not-"

Kai stepped forward pushing his hand overhead with force swaying both her and the books from the momentum, "I'm curious more than anything, what first drew you in; the purple bow tie, the glasses, or how about those biceps? But between you and me I don't think a Professor should be doing steroids."

"That's not from steroids," Bonnie said replaying some fond workout memories they had together at the gym, in the woods, around the house; knowing exactly how much work and effort was put into it.

The sound of something deep in Kai's chest brought Bonnie's attention back to his and thought this was a time if any she could say she was witnessing someone ' _losing their cool'_. Kai's calm and collected exterior faded showing his true colors of fire and ice; his invisible force field demanding attention and simmering with darkness. Drawing his other hand up the books near her hip he leaned down getting eye-level looking intoxicating.

"How _did_ he win you over this time; whisper sweet melodies in your ear while he laid you down gently? Or was all that pent-up energy from not seeing you enough to throw you against the wall and tear your clothes off. You said yourself that _so much_ had happened this morning, apparently cementing that bond _._ "

Bonnie's ears perked hearing her words playing back during her overwrought state of mind from being cramped in an elevator blended with the same phrase Jeremy used rolling off of Kai's tongue like he'd been waiting to say it. Fighting against her instincts Bonnie met his gaze seeing borderline blacked-out irises, from adrenaline or arousal she wasn't entirely sure.

"Are you sure it's curiosity Colonel, I almost sense jealousy coming off of you."

"That would mean I'm envious of the maid's little brother _Scarlet_ , and that's not the case. I want you to do something," Kai murmured as she looked over his serious expression having a hard time deciphering what was real vs. what they were still acting out, "close your eyes and imagine whose fingers you want to feel stroking your smooth skin, whose body you want up against yours making you tremble and shake pushing you until you almost can't take it. Who is it that gets inside your head when they're near you? The thrill and anticipation charging you with electricity until you can't see straight."

Bonnie obliged closing her eyes hoping it would help clear her mind but she unwillingly played right into his sexual goading; Kai's deep reverberations twisting her core, restlessly scratching at the bindings to prevent doing the same down his button-up. The more Kai spoke the faster her willpower drained away, thudding the back of her skull off the stacks in an attempt to shake the revolving thoughts loose and let some form of rationality flow through instead. Opening her eyes Kai inched in bending his elbows, Bonnie's senses too heightened to differentiate if it was him shaking or her and detected his jaw was locked tight; teeth clenched in what was most likely the only way he could force himself to stop talking.

Bonnie could feel the heat emitting through his clothes wafting over and pulling her in as the room seemed to get hazy around them; flashes of Kai's body connecting with every part of hers and driving her through her comfort zone onwards past the point of insanity briefly blinding her vision. Kai's unconcealed fervency was drawing off her energy and provoking something perverse inside, Bonnie's obstinate desire to act out in a reckless way spiking to an all-time high during their game of roleplay. Running her hands up from Kai's belt holster around his neck and into his hair Bonnie pressed her shoulders into the book stacks leaning her hips into his and looked at the ceiling trying to find a sign from above when a gold envelope sticking out of the books caught her attention.

"Ooh look!" Bonnie exclaimed pushing his arm out of the way and pulling over a chair for the extra height snatching the envelope out from between the bindings, the front reading _Clue #2_ in the same fancy cursive that looked like Stefan's handwriting. "It says ' _this weapon is bringing the heat'_ … what does that mean?"

"Baseball term; can also mean _packing heat_ which is a gun."

"Aha! Someone killed Mr. Salvatore possibly in the library with a gun."

"You solved the mystery."

"I'm getting there, I just need more information."

"I'd check the card in the fireplace then."

"What?" Bonnie looked over to the unlit fireplace and ran back down the steps moving a log finding a folded white card underneath, "why didn't you open it?"

"I thought I'd let you do the honors, you seem very invested."

Shimmying a happy dance and opening the card her joyful expression quickly turned sour as _The Library_ was displayed in black writing.

"Oh come on! The card saying the library is _in_ the library where the murder should have happened – who came up with that?"

"Someone with a sense of humor."

Muttering out a disgruntled noise Bonnie stormed back up the steps and straight out the door not bothering to wait for Kai in search of another room. Making their way through the hallways they made it back to the front door – with a quick pit stop at the bathroom - and turned sharply thinking of a new destination.

"Where to?"

"The kitchen."

"Why?"

"I'm thirsty," Bonnie shrugged and Kai chuckled in response, strolling into the room they both spent more time in than any other in 1994 and took a short timeout.

Rifling through the fridge and tossing a water bottle over to Kai he pulled her phone out of his back pocket tossing it behind him on the island and leaned back, Bonnie copying his stance against the cold metal.

"Can I ask you something Miss Scarlet?"

"By all means, doesn't mean I'll answer."

"How was the sex?" Kai asked casually making Bonnie choke on her gulp of water, "with Mr. Salvatore."

"Unmistakably _not_ a question that deserves a response."

"Oh come on you can tell me, it was in this house, right? Perhaps up in the Master bedroom with the King-sized bed, and don't get me started on that shower," he whistled, "certainly big enough for two. Did he take you in his arms this morning treating you in all the right ways, or was your last time a quickie? Because it _will_ be the last time."

Bonnie cocked her head, Kai's no-nonsense statement rubbing her the wrong way, "is that so?"

"It is."

"And if I say it's not?"

"Well he's a dead man, so," he shrugged unaffected and Bonnie did a double-take debating if Kai was referencing the _fictional_ _Mr. Salvatore_ or if he was still throwing out innuendos about Jeremy; more than likely it was both.

Kai popped the oracle off of his face sticking the small circle in his pocket and loosened his tie unhurriedly pulling the knot down low; the finished product looking positively erotic. It seemed that the harder Bonnie tried pushing away the more tempting and difficult Kai made things for her; his carnal allure captivating her in a dangerously provocative trance.

"I need to tell you about earlier," Bonnie revealed, mouth clamping when she heard her internal thoughts verbally spewing out of her, Kai looking her over skeptically.

"I already know."

" _No,_ you don't."

"Well it's not too hard to assume."

"You know actually I have to ask you this because it has been bothering me all night; do you really think I did?"

"Did what?"

"What you're _insinuating,_ " she ground out.

"That you hooked up with Jeremy? That you came here became consumed with an all-out lust for your ex and let him ravage you?" Kai questioned unabashedly and smirked at her pursed lips, "I don't know, did you?"

"You really think I did," Bonnie scoffed, more than a little insulted and hurt seeing how she is not the type that sleeps around even if it's with a previous partner; the rapid rise of her blood pressure propelling her forward before Kai blocked her path.

"What do you expect? _He said it._ "

"I don't know, maybe for you to not believe everything you hear and jump to conclusions and just…"

"What?"

"Nothing," she murmured shaking her head and trying with a sad endeavor to shove him backwards, his chest pushing back against her keeping them locked in place.

"And just what?" Kai asked again looking rigid all over, Bonnie's own tautness and apprehension simmering into a dark N' stormy cocktail.

"Think that little of me."

"…What?"

"I don't even know what you and I are… or aren't, and you think I'm going to jump into bed with someone else? You're an ass."

"I'm an ass," he smiled amused, "I don't think that's me in this scenario."

"It is when you're _wrong_ – you really want to know? Jeremy kissed me; pushed me up against the wall with a longing I've never seen on him doing all right things, and you know what I felt? Nothing. No desire or sparks of electricity so _screw you,_ Colonel _I-think-I-know-everything-but-I'm-usually-always-wrong_ and ask me next time before assuming I'd just sleep around."

Kai ran his hand across her collarbone clasping the side of her neck leaning down and speaking low, "Jeremy still wants you and he thinks he has some type of claim over you since you dated, and he's misinformed. I can't tell him that, I can only watch him move in on you while you brush it off and I try not to fry his brain. There's only so much a man can take before he snaps or kills someone, and I'd like to think I'm pretty sane."

"You're not killing Jeremy."

"Then tell him you don't want him," Kai let out in a low grating voice, tightening his hold and lifting her chin with his thumb, "tell him the passion's gone, to keep his hands off of you, that there's a better version of him in town – I don't care, just get the point across that you aren't his."

"Or what?" Bonnie enticed, this demanding and controlling side of Kai provoking something within her.

" _Or I will,_ and my way will be so much better."

"You wouldn't."

"I already have it planned out."

"I don't believe you," Bonnie lied and Kai's smile flashed calling her bluff, "okay I don't believe you would actually tell him."

"I'd rethink that."

"Don't tell him."

"Then you tell him."

"They can't know yet!"

"I don't care if your friends know; my only focus is on the one interested in you."

"But they'll find out! Jeremy will tell Elena who will go running to Caroline and-"

Kai bent his knees and wrapped his other arm around her waist pulling her up into his thrust, Bonnie's sentence getting cut off by a small gasp, "what do you want, Bon? To keep this going or stop now that you have judgy eyes watching? What's worse; hearing what the people who are supposed to care about you say about us, or missing out on how your body reacts with mine?"

If Kai had succeeded in anything tonight it was making Bonnie want him with an uncontrollable ferocity, her skin misting over as the unstoppable freight train of pheromones came barreling through her. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere he triggered a similar response in her, baring his teeth and gliding his hand down her neck and ribs under her dress grabbing a fistful of fishnets; leisurely lifting her almost bare thighs across his jeans feeling him stiff underneath. Heat coursed through her veins, working twice as hard to keep her breathing even as a moan threatened to break free and Bonnie couldn't tell if she was more turned on or mortified over the extent of how deeply her body was craving his touch. Feeling like her skin was alive and buzzing Bonnie leaned back angling herself against him better and grabbed the knot of his tie pulling him in close.

"I want _you."_

Bonnie didn't know how it happened but she was pretty certain she was the one who physically pulled Kai into her, devouring his groan and wrapping her legs around him feeling a vigorous slam into the fridge driving a grunt out of her throat as the lights flickered overhead. Bonnie could feel Kai's confined rage over the topic tingling on his lips and gripped his hair yanking his head back; the sweet little pecks down his throat a tease compared to gliding her way back up over his Adam's apple. Kai's pulse leaped against her tongue nibbling her way around the side and Bonnie could feel his tense arms closing in around her and hands flexing under her dress, a tell that he's debating between holding back or pushing past his point of control.

Swiveling Kai took a few steps over to the island sitting Bonnie on top and tore the fishnets in half roughly away from her thighs taking her thin laced panties with them; her startled gasp igniting to a loud sharp screech in his ear when his belt holster hit the floor and he drove into her as every lightbulb in the chandeliers overhead simultaneously exploded. Giving her no warning or moment to breathe Kai murmured Latin against her lips grinding into her and Bonnie fought to get closer scooting to the edge of the counter and ripping his shirt open with surprising ease. Scratching her nails up his bare chest and pulling off the tie Kai lifted her into a thrust with such force her vision blurred and the fridge doors flew open.

"Kai – the room," Bonnie panted.

"You're fine, the shield's up," he answered back huskily running his hands up her stomach and chest, yanking the flimsy sleeves down her arms and out of the way in one swift move followed by her long strands of pearls.

"But… the room," she moaned as Kai's lips encased her nipple and bit down, kneading the other as Bonnie gripped the roots of his hair to keep from falling backwards, "it's going to get destroyed."

"Mm."

"People will _notice!_ "

Making his way back up her chest and neck Kai kicked the fridge door closed and grumbled out another sentence in Latin landing in front of her with eyes so dark that the sensual look alone had her aching for him. Kai brought his face inches from her, his ragged breathing puffing against her skin dragging his nails down her sides and around her legs crossing them behind his back and lifted her off the counter pulling her into his every plunge. Bonnie looked around seeing nothing flying around the room and her hands slid back planting firmly against the black marble as Kai leaned over propelling her into him with deep drives making her thighs shake.

Pushing his forehead into the crook of her neck sweat misted over Bonnie's skin listening to Kai's low and raspy sounds, never seeming to be self-conscious or abashed when his gratification reverberated off the walls. Kai's noises always seemed to find a way to shoot straight down into Bonnie's core setting her over the edge, his deep threatening sounds grinding out her name being one of her single greatest joys. Bonnie dropped her head back as his rumblings sent a charge through her system, her overzealousness resulting in a string of broken words each booming more than the next and she could sense the effect it was starting to have on Kai as his hands sizzled against her skin.

Yanking Bonnie off the counter Kai spun her around pushing the dress farther up and ripping the fishnets down – a little ticked off he didn't just do that to begin with – and trailed soft kisses up her spine making Bonnie feel unhinged by the time he pressed his teeth into one of her weak spots where her shoulder and neck meet. Bonnie lulled back onto his left shoulder and Kai tilted her head to his, angling himself and catching her with her defenses down as what started out as a simple brush of their lips became impassioned leaving her flustered and gasping for air as everything swayed around her. Heaving forward to steady herself Kai pushed his chest into her back laying them flat across the marble and Bonnie could feel him stiff between her cheeks.

"I've thought about bending you over this counter during many late night dinners," Kai hummed under her ear, "more times than you can imagine."

Countless meals they've had together in this house – this _room_ – played at lightning speed, Bonnie's skin tingling at the thought of him picturing them doing exactly this during any of those times. As her lust-induced mind filtered through possible scenarios Kai has imagined for them since she knows for a fact he has played them out before, Bonnie felt his magic charged fingertips sinking into her skin as he leaned back sweeping them down her back stopping at the curve of her ass.

Bonnie could feel the knot twisting her insides as her hips moved at their own discretion lifting onto her toes to line him up and Kai sank into her in one quick movement, the guttural noise going down his chest flowing into her as her nails clawed across the cold marble. Kai ran his hand across her skin buzzling with electricity and grabbed a fistful of hair, pulling with just enough pressure to arch her back taking him to the root and hitting a tender spot. Bonnie's body temperature rose exponentially as Kai powered into her, his groans and burning words of fervor gusting inches from her ear drowning out everything around her as the flush of heat spread.

A loud ambulance siren jolted Bonnie back into Kai and noticed it was coming from the phone next to her; Caroline's playing music inside the purse across the room on the table. Bonnie reached over with a shaking hand but Kai was quicker and swiped the phone sticking it in his chest pocket and pulled her into him snaking his arm around her stomach.

" _Kai_ – they're calling us – we have to go," Bonnie got out in short, quick breaths over Kai's constant movements and he bent his knees driving forward in response.

"We're not going anywhere."

"We have to finish."

"Exactly."

" _The game._ "

"Later – besides I already know who did it. We have more _urgent_ matters, wouldn't you say?" Kai persuaded stroking deep inside and massaging her breasts, pinching down the same moment he rocked into her causing a loud cry of pleasure to escape her lips.

The sound of echoes and distant chatter brought Bonnie crashing back down to reality in an instant; her hyperawareness kicking in and pivoting halfway to clamp her hand over Kai's heavy breathing. Multiple voices drew in and the current state of euphoria she was residing in was quickly spiraling into Defcon 1 as she let go of his mouth to swat against his chest and hands.

"They're coming, get off of me!" Bonnie raced through and felt Kai grip her tighter.

"They won't see you."

"They'll see _both of us."_

"I'll let you in on a secret," he murmured brushing his fingers over her clit making her arch into him, " _we're invisible."_

"You cloaked us?" Bonnie got out after regaining her thoughts, "when?"

"After dinner, we've been cloaked the entire time aside from the few altercations with people," Kai revealed chuckling.

"Why?"

"In case the game got too real."

"You mean in case you decided to kill Jeremy?" Bonnie scoffed out a sound that turned into a grunt as he thrust forward.

"That was the main one, the other was in hopes I got _Miss Scarlet_ alone," he said hoarsely against her neck keeping up his agonizingly commanding pace weakening her skittish attempts at stopping.

Looking out the kitchen door into the dining room Bonnie couldn't see any shadows threatening to pop out but could still hear their voices making her believe they were in the room right after; the _longue._

"I think they're in the living room."

"Doesn't that make you hot; knowing people are so close and could walk in at any second. They can't see us but you still feel sexually charged by the naughty foreplay of it all."

"No… it doesn't," Bonnie stated, never thinking of the topic before right now.

"Really? I am just thinking about it; I hope it's your blonde friend," Kai mentioned gruffly through a smile, a jagged noise slipping out when Bonnie slammed back into him.

"I will kill you."

Kai's light laughter vibrated through her core tingling out her fingers and toes, one of his hands trailing down past her naval as the other turned her chin slanting his lips over hers and pulling her into a lavishly wet kiss. Bonnie's insides warmed at the contrast of the tenderness of his kisses vs. the sexual animalistic side that manages to bring out the same hidden minx in herself that only Kai can invoke.

" _They're getting closer,_ " Kai whispered against her lips picking up his pace, the adrenaline of being caught in this scandalous predicament almost pushing her over the edge when she faintly heard Caroline's phone and a man's voice from ten feet in front of her.

"I told you I heard her phone," Jeremy said passing the room to the table where the purse is while glancing at the ceiling, "what happened to the lights?"

A startled shriek escaped Bonnie's throat before clamping her hand down in fear they would hear and flailed her arms and body backwards into Kai trying to break the connection but he held her still with a vise grip.

"Peculiar," Elena noted flipping the switch back and forth, "she's got to be around here somewhere."

"With _Kai,_ " Jeremy said in a disgusting tone and Kai chuckled low against her neck moving slowly leaving soft kisses on her skin.

" _Professor._ "

" _Colonel Mustard,_ " Jeremy corrected with a roll of his eyes, "that older stoic creep who is without a doubt the real killer."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Miss Scarlet is very mysterious she could be keeping him close to frame him."

"Then why doesn't she have her purse? Something's wrong, he's up to something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I think he took her and he could be off somewhere hurting her."

"Am I hurting you?" Kai breathed on a particularly masterful stroke making her break out in goosebumps and Bonnie had to fight through the shock of pleasure pressing her hands into his stomach trying to push him away. Wrapping her hands back around her front Kai lifted her off the ground and took a couple steps to the left around the island landing them face-to-face with Jeremy and Elena at the table. Kai brought her wrists around her back and crossed them with one hand grabbing her shoulder with the other and thrusting forward. "Do you really want me to _stop_ , Miss Scarlet? We've come along all this way, and you're so close…"

Bonnie's vision blurred at the impact, her whimpers of protest escalating to pants of encouragement that she was completely unaware was within her; Miss Scarlet making another unexpected appearance. Through heavy lids she could see Elena leaving the room as Jeremy hovered near her purse and Bonnie dropped her head to block him out only to be tugged aggressively by the hair bringing her eye-line directly to him, unable to move or look away.

"Did he ever make you feel like this?" Kai uttered huskily, "with that _want_ and _need_ you can't stay away from – that you can't get enough of. Does looking at him still turn you on? Lingering thoughts of his fingers running over you and your body pressed up against his. Do you still want him?"

Bonnie couldn't even think straight, let alone answer an interrogation when she felt like she was on fire. Hoping that ignoring his question sufficed as an answer Bonnie let out a harsh noise when Kai let go of her wrists throwing her right leg on top of the island and pounded into her. Through the haze she could still see Jeremy's silhouette and something pinged in the back of her mind with clarity that Bonnie didn't want Jeremy's gentle hands caressing her and making love to her, she needed more. She wanted someone she could argue with; as stubborn and demanding as her who was passionate and maybe even a little dangerous. Bonnie needed to have someone in her life that she could relate to and not feel judged, or different, or ashamed of what she has been through and how it has changed her - and she used to think Jeremy was that man.

"Is little Gilbert the right one for you? Are you still looking for your Prince Charming, or ready for something darker?"

Kai's deep rumblings vibrated throughout her entire body, his dominant tone a contrast against what Bonnie suspects might be a shadow of doubt in his mind; coaxing the truth out of her to know for himself. Giving her ass a sharp ' _slap'_ Bonnie curved into him and his left hand slid out of her hair and around her neck, pulling her into his face looking into eyes so dilated there was almost no icy blue visible. The mixture of his seductive stare and lack of oxygen was making her head spin, the rhythmic slapping of his body pumping into hers pushing her over the precipice as her limbs started to shake in warning. Reaching up to grip his wrist Kai's hand tightened around her throat and Bonnie's other trailed down to the one digging into her hip; Kai interlocking their fingers and pressing them both above her pelvis and squeezing as shocks of magic shot through her fingertips flooding her system. Bonnie felt alive with electricity, her skin sizzling to the touch that sparked an insatiable craving of wanting to feel this way every day.

" _No one can make me feel like this_ ," Bonnie moaned out as her instincts took over spilling out words with no control over them, " _there's no one else_."

Hearing her own words out loud was Bonnie's undoing; the undisclosed confession coming out as a revelation to her closeminded stubbornness when it came to Kai, still in this moment not wanting to believe what she was saying. Grating out his name roughly Kai ran his tongue over her bottom lip swallowing her scream as he rode out her orgasm and followed letting out his own tantalizing sounds into her mouth that had Bonnie aching for more. Breathing in each other's pants Kai soothed her trembling; kissing her softly and she pried open her heavy lids seeing him staring back at her.

"Did anyone ever tell you it's weird to look at someone while you're kissing them?" Bonnie puffed against his lips causing a smile to break out.

"No."

"It's weird."

"I like watching you," Kai rasped and she shivered in response, clamping down in the crook of her neck making her giggle and squirm away.

Bonnie shot her head back towards the table and breathed out a long sigh of relief not seeing Jeremy still standing ten feet unaware or worse – staring at the both of them through horrified eyes if the cloaking spell didn't hold up. Bonnie couldn't fully process what had just happened, the whole thing seeming like a foggy dream-like state where she couldn't have been held accounted for her rash decisions. Running her hand over her mouth as fragments of the last few minutes started replaying in a new heightened lucidity Kai stepped back and spun her around, nibbling his way up her stomach and chest and kissing her with purpose; Bonnie's scattered thoughts of panic entrapped under a blanket of hindrance as Kai eased her back down.

"I can't go out there."

"Sure you can."

"No, I don't see that happening."

"We wouldn't want them to think I have you hostage somewhere _doing_ something to you," Kai grinned with eyebrows raised.

"I don't care; they'll know anyway Caroline will see it all over my face before I even make it into the room. She probably already knows!"

Kai's candid laughter did nothing to appease the tight knot in her stomach, the worry tipping over to hysteria with each passing thought until Kai pulled her face in front of his with his hands resting on the sides of her neck.

"You worry too much; if you make it obvious, they'll know," he shrugged, "so just be your usual confident sexy self _Miss Scarlet_ and you'll be fine. It's not like you haven't been keeping dirty secrets from them already, what's a few more?"

Kai's impeccable way of words and twisting them accordingly to agree with his point of view was genuinely impressive; even now with her inclination wanting to argue against his every point couldn't deny the appeal of his suggestion. Looking over Kai's ruffled appearance she was pleased with herself that she was the one that unraveled him; the edgy look he was sporting with his dark eyes, flushed face, tense posture, and shirt torn open with a red scratch going down his stomach.

"When did that happen?"

"When you were trying to push me away, probably – but it's okay, I like you marking me," Kai said provocatively and winked, laughing when she made a disgruntled face and Bonnie nudged him backwards hopping off the counter to readjust her dress and scooping the pearls off the floor.

"I can't believe you just tore these in half," Bonnie murmured pulling up the fishnets and checking the damage of the decent-size rip.

"You mean these?" Kai grinned holding up her shredded lace panties and stuck them in his pocket, Bonnie feeling exposed and petrified of the type of woman she's becoming.

"Is it noticeable?" she asked in a small voice, pulling the hem of her dress down repeatedly in hopes it was long enough to not give anything away.

"I think your safe," Kai smirked buttoning up his shirt, reaching for the belt holster putting it back in place and taking the oracle out of his pocket as Bonnie checked him head to toe and watched him struggle to knot the tie, swatting his hands out of the way to tie it.

"I would have expected you to know how to do this by now."

"I didn't wear too many ties in my eternal paradise," Kai smirked and hummed when she glided her hands through his hair, "what'cha doin'?"

"I'm making sure you don't have sex hair," Bonnie stated in a factual tone that had his face lighting up with humor.

"What does sex hair look like?"

"Chaotic and all over the place and a dead giveaway you were up to no good."

"Hey Bon?"

"Yeah?"

" _You have sex hair."_

Yanking her hands out of his hair she instantly went to her own; matting it down and pampering within thirty seconds to tame it back to its original look. Running back over to the little red purse Bonnie grabbed the lipstick inside and slid it on quickly falling back in step with her surroundings and the part she's supposed to be playing and let the mask slide back on, looking over at Kai with a raised chin as she headed for the door.

"You ready, Colonel?"

"Lead the way, Scarlet."

Bonnie propelled herself forward before losing her nerve as her heart beat faster with each step she took closing the distance to the muffled voices and stopped dead in her tracks a step away from the door, Kai almost barreling into her.

"Kai…"

"I'm right behind you," he leaned down whispering and to her surprise the comment did seem to alleviate some of the anxiety.

"Do you have a thing for being fashionably late, Miss Scarlet?" Elena asked failing miserably at trying to hold a straight face, eyes darting behind her to Kai and back.

"A lady _always_ arrives fashionably late, Mrs. White; builds up the anticipation."

"What about you, Colonel Mustard?" Jeremy asked stepping closer.

"A gentleman assists a lady in whatever needs she asks of him," Kai smiled walking around Bonnie as a flush of heat crept up her neck.

"And what would those be?" he murmured showing a cold flash of hatred over exaggerating his posture, everyone's eyes moving between Bonnie and Kai.

"Assistance to the restrooms; there is a _murderer_ on the loose after all."

"Why didn't you have your purse?" Jeremy asked looking around Kai.

"She left it in the kitchen, we were investigating – not the murder room by the way."

"I know because we're _in_ the room," Elena spoke up, taking the attention off the two men squaring off, "and in my hand is the final Clue that tells us _exactly_ who was behind this heinous crime! It reads ' _Be cautious of the ones you hold dear, they are the ones you truly should fear'_ which narrows it down to only one; _Miss Scarlet!_ "

"Me?" Bonnie spewed in a prickly undertone, "if I'm not mistaken that narrows it down to _two_ , Mrs. White – as you were just as close to Rich as I was… if not closer."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's take a moment to dissect that clue, shall we," Bonnie said crossing the room and snatching the piece of paper out of Elena's hand, "' _the ones you hold dear',_ why I don't think there's anyone who fancied him more, working for him for all of these years and forming that tightknit bond. If I'm not mistaken you were brought up in many conversations revolved around your afterhours indiscretions spent in the house with him; unfortunately for you I'm not as scatterbrained as Mrs. Peacock was."

" _Hey!_ " Caroline perked throwing her hands out.

"What Mrs. _Peacock_ never picked up on while she was married to Mr. Salvatore was the affair you two were having that started back up again while he and I were together."

" _How could you!"_ Caroline shrieked playfully, grabbing Stefan's lapels and pulling him close for dramatic effect.

Bonnie looked between their obvious progression in intimacy since getting whisked away to 1994 and over to Elena who was also watching their lighthearted banter and wondered what could be going through her mind. Elena had been well aware of their development towards a relationship but she had also had the love of her life to occupy any nagging thoughts that could have arisen; now she unknowingly had to look at things through a new perspective.

"So I think it is actually _you_ Mrs. White, but why don't we leave our fate up to Professor Plum and Colonel Mustard," Bonnie vocalized drawing everyone's attention back in and thought it was almost comical that her fate in the game was in the hands of Jeremy and Kai.

"All in favor of Mrs. White?" Stefan voiced.

Jeremy's hand shot straight in the air, the smug smile sliding in place looking over at Elena's agape shock and turned back to Kai, hands still down, staring at her. Bonnie widened her eyes for him to raise his too and he cocked an eyebrow, smiling out of the corner of his mouth before following her command.

"Ooh tough luck sexy maid, let's see that red sticker!"

"Well good luck trying to find it," Elena huffed pulling off her small maid's hat and flipping it over revealing no mark, doing the same to the feather duster and inside of the apron.

"And it seems the killer has made it to the Final 3," Stefan remarked, "time for an all-out battle to see whodunit; the one outvoted will be eliminated and the person with the best arguments and reasoning will win."

"It's Colonel Mustard!" Jeremy declared, "It couldn't be more evident."

"This again?"

" _Yes_ , because the killer – you – still hasn't been eliminated. You were his lawyer; you handled all of his millions and knew exactly how much he was worth. You were someone he was very close with, and you're a trained killer."

"There's always that, _"_ Kai nodded, "but there's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"I'm not Miss Scarlet," he smiled turning his eyes on her, "miss greedy over here was spending her time with me to get close to the money and seemed more interested about finding clues than feeling sad. _And_ she knew about Mr. Salvatore's affair with the maid which would just piss anyone off. Then there's that pesky little detail that a week before he had made revisions to his will; lowering Miss Scarlet's funds and raising Mrs. White's. But hey maybe you're right, it could have been me."

"It _was_ you," Jeremy argued stubbornly.

"It was _definitely_ you," Bonnie agreed, "I didn't do anything. My vote for the killer is Colonel Mustard – Professor?"

"Absolutely," Jeremy beamed and Kai flashed the same cheeky grin, popping the oracle out of his eye and taking off his belt first followed by the tie at what Bonnie could only describe a sensual pace, flipping it over to show no red sticker.

"You almost survived the night Professor," Stefan laughed, "but you probably should have listened to the Colonel. Now that you're the only survivor left Miss Scarlet had no choice but to eliminate you from the equation as well, making the murderer of Mr. Salvatore the lone survivor.

"Yes," Bonnie cheered hands raised taking a victory lap for her flawless acting and deceptive arguments swaying everyone's suspicion away from her. Flipping open her small purse a large red sticker was plastered on the inside, "I fooled you, and I fooled you –"

"Can't fool me," Kai smiled when she turned towards him and mimicked his mock-sweet grin.

"Too bad you're not better at convincing your point."

Winking and continuing on to the rest of her friends Bonnie felt triumphant over everything she has accomplished and experienced during this roleplay-real life game of _Clue_. Caroline walked over to her giggling in content and thrust a small drink in her and Kai's hands.

"I would suggest taking that in one sip, _it's strong._ "

Staring down at the dark liquid Bonnie took a deep breath and swallowed the warm liquor in one gulp as it burned down her throat, her vision swaying almost immediately.

"What is that?"

"Some century'ish year old scotch," Caroline laughed and refilled it again halfway, "and that's all you get or else you won't remember the night."

"You should give me another full one then," Bonnie nodded and Caroline snorted grabbing two more glasses for her and Elena as they all cheered.

"So Kai, did you crack the whole mystery or just who did it?"

"Oh I know the whole thing."

"Let's just see about that," Caroline gleamed grabbing the envelope from Stefan and opening it, "what's your final verdict?"

Kai tapped the side of the glass with his index finger finishing the rest of it before answering, "Miss Scarlet, in the study, with a candlestick."

"You're right!" Caroline gusted through her astonishment.

"When did you figure it out?" Bonnie wondered since Kai never gave away any inkling that he was even playing the game let alone solving it.

"Some time in the library," he shrugged, "since it wasn't the library it was the study, and Miss Scarlet seemed the type that would kill in a moment of passion grabbing whatever was closest not coming prepared with a gun hidden in that dress."

"When did you know it was me?"

" _I always knew it was you."_

"Liar."

Kai did another dismissive gesture, smirking and sauntering away as Bonnie continued talking to Caroline. Feeling a nice wave of mellowness wash over her she plopped down on the couch scanning the room when she caught sight of Jeremy standing within Kai's vicinity and could tell from Jer's aggressive hand gestures he was trying to argue whatever he was saying. Kai's face stayed composed giving nothing away but Bonnie knew better, his hands shoved into his front pockets a tell he's restraining himself. Blinking slowly her eyes froze open when both guys turned their heads focusing their attention on her, Jeremy being the first to walk towards her.

"Oh no," Bonnie mumbled struggling to stand back up and tripped over the couch leg trying to move around it.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked next to her ear catching her fall and her hysteric state of mind mixed with the sudden wooziness had her cackling uncomfortably.

"I think I'm feeling the surge of power from being the victorious killer," Bonnie smiled straightening herself and stepping backwards walking in the other direction to keep moving.

"So did you think more about staying here tonight?"

"I-" she hesitated, never giving it a second thought after she brushed it off earlier before getting preoccupied in other arrangements, "I still need a little space from this house before I can start spending the night. Besides these drinks really just snuck up on me."

"Are you sure? I know it's the same house but you're safe now," he reassured, "and there's plenty of rooms for you to fall asleep in."

"Maybe another time," Bonnie smiled and chatted for another few minutes, giving him a hug goodbye when Kai's voice sounded near the doorway.

"Well I'm going to head out," Kai stretched his arms wide, "Bon, always a pleasure. Bon's friends… _ehh_."

Bonnie's mouth opened to question where he was going but didn't want to raise suspicion in the crowded look, glaring in his direction as he winked and darted out of view heading out the front door. Feeling distracted she weaved through the rest of her friends starting her round of goodbyes and ended with Caroline handing her back her phone.

"Thanks for letting me borrow this."

"No problem, not like you needed it much anyway – having your phone in Kai's pocket five feet away," Caroline suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

" _You_ were the one that made one of my tasks to stick by Colonel Mustard; what are the odds of that, huh?"

"I know right, I couldn't have planned it if I tried… which I did," she laughed "but it was a 1 in 3 odds you'd both get the right people."

"Why?"

"So I can hear all about it later."

"Hear about what?"

"The whole night; Kai thanked me for a _memorable night_ when he came over to say goodbye. Your excuses so far have been that the days blend together and it was always the same thing of staying at the house, so now you have a new memory to gossip over with me later."

"Is that why –"Bonnie thought out loud, "is that what this whole night was about?"

"How angry will you be if I say yes?" Caroline asked with a fake-innocent pout before squeezing Bonnie tight, "but you have to admit it was a fun night!"

"I guess," Bonnie murmured into Caroline's embrace, "but that's just because you know how to throw awesome parties."

"You are right about that! But there will definitely be another girl's night happening soon."

"But you're here you already know what happened," Bonnie tried counteracting.

"Not _everything_ ," she hummed and eased up on her grip leaning back, "we'll save that for another time. Do you have everything you need?"

"Y-"she started looking over her appearance, "no, I kicked the heels off they were starting to hurt."

" _Mhm._ "

"They were! I love you, I'll text you when I'm home."

"Love you too!"

Making her way down the hallways in half a daze she strolled into the ballroom finding Kai in the corner messing with the music.

"What are you doing in here? I thought you left."

"I walked out the front door, not at all the same," he smiled, "you should know better than most there's more than one way into this boarding house."

"So you didn't have somewhere else you needed to be?" Bonnie asked casually walking to her shoes and scooped them up with her fingers, heading back for the door.

"Where else would I need to be?"

"I don't know, wherever you were earlier," she suggested turning down the hall with Kai in step.

"No, that can wait for now."

"Where did you go?"

"I'll tell you all about it when I'm seated comfortably – preferably lying down."

"When are you going to find your own place? You know part of being in the real world is finding a home and paying to live in it."

"Isn't sleeping on a friend's couch still acceptable?"

"Not really."

"This generation," he _tsk'd,_ "what happened to you guys?"

"Generations of bad decisions led us here," Bonnie joked and turned down the final hallway leading to the front door, "I can't just walk out the front door with you."

"Relax, I'm going," he said through a wide smile, "I'll meet you at the car in a minute."

Bonnie breathed through the hazy blur that was forming like a cloud over her vision, running her hand along the side of the wall as each step brought her closer to the dark secret she was dancing with. Once she was caught up in the moment Bonnie realized things that she could never admit out loud – most she wasn't even fully aware of – started spilling out of her lips putting the whole private affair in the spotlight for Kai to see. Even though her mind and body was being drawn to Kai there was still a part of her that was convinced whatever feelings he thought he felt was superficial at best, and therefore nothing could develop and grow into anything between them. Bonnie was trying hard not to send mixed signals but it felt like she was going through bouts of split personality where _Miss Scarlet_ goes with her heart and desires and _Bonnie Bennett_ goes with her head and rational thought. Wrapping her hand around the handle she glanced back at her friends all talking and laughing and inhaled a moment of content, enjoying the night of dinner and games with the people she has longed to see for months on end and turned the knob slipping out the door before anyone spotted her.


	11. Chapter 11

"I think your friends like me," Kai gleamed turning left out of the driveway as Bonnie fiddled with the radio.

"I think they liked Colonel Mustard."

"He was an intensely brooding man – those were the main two traits that were in my character booklet, and to be ' _calm and collected_ '; how do you think I did?"

"Pretty convincing," Bonnie nodded, "what else did yours say?"

"That I was _dignified, dapper, and dangerous_ ," he chortled, "I liked that. I was the victim's lawyer and argued frequently over legal issues, oh and I had to play mysterious and not talk so much."

"Well you failed in that department," she snorted, "was the Colonel harboring any secrets?"

"What kind of question is that? He's a _Colonel_ ; he's full of secrets. But the only ones revolved around the game were that I knew about the affair with Mrs. White and to get closer to the potential suspects; her and _Miss Scarlet_."

"Oh so _that's_ why you wanted to partner up."

"No, is that why you agreed to?"

"Yes," Bonnie admitted smiling, "you had a high motive being the lawyer and handling all of his money so it made sense to investigate you."

"When in a dramatic twist _you_ were actually the cold-blooded killer."

"I was, and I was damn good at it too; no one's suspicions stuck once Mrs. White's dirty laundry started spilling out across the floor."

"That was a smooth move; was going after the maid a personal choice or Scarlet's vengeance?"

"That was all Miss Scarlet; most of my secrets were information on Mrs. White that I could use to frame her - oh and that I'm the one everyone is looking for."

"That's a pretty good secret; did you have fun?"

"I did," Bonnie smiled sleepily and Kai saw her looking over at him out of his peripheral, "what's with that look?"

"I seem to recall you saying ' _fun_ ' wasn't a word you would use to describe tonight," he perked glancing over with a satisfied expression.

"That was before I really _embodied_ the role of Miss Scarlet; once I got to switch personalities and take a break from real life it was great."

"See, if we left early you wouldn't have been able to sass out all of your friends and walk away the champion."

"That's true."

"And we can't pass over Scarlet and the Colonel's adventures, those were pretty unforgettable," Kai glanced over winking and felt his teasing expression fade seeing Bonnie's faraway look of content, taking a moment before noticing he was watching.

"I'm not thinking the same thing as you," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I've missed dancing almost as much as seeing my friends, or being back home; it was the only thing I could do to de-stress and unwind after another action-packed day in Mystic Falls and was my only real escape."

"Why didn't you continue in '94?"

"I did at first, I had Damon dancing all over that house but it was just to stay upbeat and optimistic. Once he started losing hope his personality went with it and I kind of just fell out of it, and then he left."

"I was still there."

" _Yeah, right_ ," Bonnie scoffed, "the reason Damon left without me in the first place is because you shot me with an arrow."

"Because you tried killing me with a pic-axe," Kai reminded her, "I guess that wasn't one of our best days. But what about after the first couple of months when you realized ' _oh hey he isn't going to kill me_ '?"

"I have yet to have that revelation," she let out with a skeptical look over his face, "but I didn't know anything about you then; I definitely didn't know you could dance."

"Did I blow you away?"

"You... surprised me, that's for sure; but blow me away? I'd have to see this _dance battle_ before I started using statements like that."

"Okay, it's a date," he grinned wide at Bonnie's sharp glare in return, changing topics before she could argue and arrived at the house within minutes. "You hungry?"

Bonnie's response was an unladylike grunt as she dragged her feet through the front door and down the hall turning right into the bathroom, Kai shaking his head smiling as he checked the clock reading 12:48AM and rifled through the cabinets grabbing chips and a glass of water and leaned back on the counter. As far as the last few decades went Kai was pretty sure tonight made the top 10; and it was up against some tough contenders having free range to do whatever he wanted from flying planes to being the Captain and only passenger on massive cruise ships. The first time they slept together it was electrifying, intoxicating; making him have an insatiable craving for another person which was to say the least _unforeseen_ , and had him stalking Bonnie around the house cornering her every chance he got. Even though Kai took on the same tactic during tonight's rendezvous his motive behind it wasn't just about drawing Bonnie in, but pushing someone away from her.

For some unexplained reason Kai couldn't shake this anger towards a guy he hadn't even met until a few days ago and it was escalating to the point of seeping into his other thoughts and interfering with his mood. He liked to think he had a carefree and levelheaded mental state when it came to most situations but there was something about this situation that was causing Kai to physically act out; the shake in his control making him firmly _believe_ murder is a perfectly acceptable solution to your problems when they are the cause behind it. It couldn't be _jealousy_ which Bonnie poked fun at him about earlier because he didn't feel envious of Jeremy or want to be him in any way; he just wanted him to back off. Kai did try to warn Bonnie more than once that he was a possessive and proprietorial man over the things he wanted, being leader of the Gemini Coven coming to mind first and foremost as a fine example.

Kai knew Bonnie didn't believe him but whatever has been escalating between them isn't just an act; there is something planted deep in his mind coercing him towards his actions of continuing to spend time with her, not just killing the twins and any of their little compadres that tried to defend them, and squaring off against his father. The fact that the Gemini leader hasn't made any direct attacks against him – only Josette – when they're winding down to almost two days until the merge ceremony fills Kai's every waking thought and action with a hyperawareness of everything around him. No one knows better than Kai the paranoia and terror his father can instill in a person to achieve what he wants but this was not his first naïve battle where he was unarmed and defenses down – it was war, and one of them had to fall.

The funny thing about Joshua Parker was that he seemed to be able to move fluently between mental and physical pain, seeing which triggers what reactions and using that knowledge to his advantage - even with it directed specifically at Kai he couldn't hate on the coldhearted work that went into it. What he could detest was the new layer of difficulty it put in his plan, knowing that there's only one person in both world's he's been stuck in that genuinely likes him. When it came down to it Kai was going to become the new leader of the coven so he needed to cover his bases and deal with every possibility that could stand in the way of that happening.

Crossing the kitchen into Bonnie's room he scooped the three Grimoire's off the desk and flipped through scanning them all at rapid speed; sticking a piece of paper inside the Bennett's _Protection Spell_ she used on him before they left the prison world and continuing on coming up short and whipping one of the books across the room. Kai heard it make contact with something and looked over to it falling on the pillow, a memory arising of a picture frame flying off the wall towards the both of them and being blocked by the shield. Running up the flight of stairs into the attic where his bags of clothes were laid he traded out the tight jeans for comfy black sweats and crouched in front of the backpack pulling out the _Parker Grimoire_ and headed back downstairs plopping on the bed. Finding the spell he wanted didn't seem to be the issue, an exterior shield and interior shield within pages of each other, but the concept and process of it was thoroughly contrastive.

"You look very deep in thought," Bonnie said in an exaggeratingly bass tone, crossing the room to the dresser in a towel.

"Not anymore," Kai looked up smiling putting the open book against his stomach, watching her slide on a pair of blue panties followed by small white pajama shorts and dropped the towel showing her bare back before slipping on a tank top. Pursing his lips Kai looked over the deceivingly innocent look the all-white outfit gave Bonnie and he felt a violent urge to defile that image after the night they had. "Well don't you look like a paragon of virtue."

Bonnie's eyebrows drew in looking over her outfit and back up with a glare, grabbing the towel off the floor and hurdling it in his direction before sitting on the bed near his feet.

"Doing some light reading?"

"You could say that; I have an idea I want to run by you."

"Okay."

"I want to put a protection shield on you in case my dad tries anything."

"You mean the protection spell I used on you before?"

"Partly; the other one is an internal shielding spell, similar to the one I put up when you start breaking beds," Kai winked nudging her thigh with his foot and watched a flush of heat go up her neck, "both simple spells, it's just with this one it's shielding you from within and it needs to latch onto something so... it's kind of going to suck."

"What do you mean?"

"Well the ramblings a little spotty," he said picking the book back up, "but basically it sounds like the shield first forms around the life-source – which would be your heart – and pushes its way out protecting you from any physical or mental harm. For it to fully work it needs to attach to your energy so that could feel pretty unpleasant, but once it's up it'll stay intact for a full week! So you'll have a few days before and after the ceremony it works out rather brilliantly."

"If that one's so great why do I need the protection spell too?"

"I like to be prepared; if by any way he loophole's his way through the shield, the spell will ensure you come back."

"You think he'll _kill me_?"

"I think he'll _kill everyone_. I thought he would have shown up by now and the fact that he hasn't means I have to plan five moves ahead."

"Chess," Bonnie nodded in understanding and he smirked forgetting she's both heard and seen the type of man his father is.

"And my father is one hell of a player; he always said I couldn't beat him because I was too impulsive and couldn't see the big picture," Kai remembered and chuckled softly, "he wasn't wrong. But this time is different."

"How?"

"I've had another 18 years to plan out every possible move he could make."

"But he has tried getting to you already, remember? Damon didn't kill you out of the kindness of his heart but from your dad telling him to. And he already knew you would come back and you were on the verge of dying anyway so there is a plan he's working on right now."

"I'll figure it out," Kai reassured but her worrisome expression stayed the same, "he probably just wanted the protection spell out of the way so he still has time to try something before Saturday."

"You could have just put up another one."

"No, part of the ceremony is not being under any outside magical influences otherwise the twins won't be able to make the connection. I have the tricky benefit of devouring magic and turning it into my own which he could have assumed I would do but he knew once the spell was down I was fair game, so what is he waiting for?" Kai felt his features starting to harden focusing in on his father and the shift in personality that came with it; quickly pulling himself out of it by leaning forward and pulling Bonnie onto his lap. "So which spell should we start with; the painful one or the pleasant one?"

"Rip off the Band-Aid," she grumbled replaying his words from earlier and his smile widened running his hands over her bare thighs.

"I just need you to do one thing for me," Bonnie's raised eyebrow sufficed as more than an answer, "I don't know where the candles are."

"Oh," Bonnie laughed, whatever thought that popped into her head evaporating as she hopped off his lap and out the door, appearing a minute later with two long candlesticks in their holders.

"Miss Scarlet!" Kai yelped with hands raised, "Just drop – the weapons – and everything will be okay."

Bonnie glanced down at the candlesticks and back up with a mischievous grin, crossing either side of the bed and putting one on each side table. "I don't know Colonel; you almost blew my cover tonight, and right at the end."

"Oh the Professor never would have sided with me, even if it did result in his own death." Grabbing her hips Kai pulled her back over his sweats and felt her wiggle to get comfortable running her fingers over his shirt buttons; pulling her in and running his hands under her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie uttered quietly, not smacking him away when he lifted the material over her head and placed his palm flat above her chest.

"It's for the spell; I need to be close to your heart and touching skin for the connection to work, although I probably would have done it anyways with you straddling me and all," Kai joked seeing a hint of amusement flicker before her apprehension was back scratching restlessly against his chest. "This isn't going to feel great so try not to fight me on it."

"We'll see," she sighed closing her eyes and exhaling a shaky breath, her heartbeat racing under his right palm as he reached for the Grimoire with the other and started in.

 _Phasmatos Spiritus Praesidio Clypeus, Custodi Me A Malitia_

The candles ignited on either side of them as a look of discomfort shot across Bonnie's face, repeating the spell again with slow enunciations making her grip his wrist.

" _It hurts._ "

"That means it's working," Kai reassured saying the verse again and Bonnie tried to force herself backwards pushing against his weight as the flames burned brighter and a harsh cry formed in the back of her throat.

"Can't breathe – on fire."

"You're not, I'm right here," Kai said in a relaxing tone leaning forward and pressing her flat on the mattress when she tried scrambling away, "and I can feel your heart beating strong. It's almost over."

Kai had never unintentionally done harm to anyone – there has always been a reason behind the pain and suffering he's inflicted, and had to admit to loving that feeling of righteousness. This, on the other hand, was not the same. The crazed look that comes over a person when they realize they are the helpless prey against him has given Kai a strange sense of satisfaction in the past; every person having the same urge to either _fight_ or _flight_ being the most exhilarating part of the whole endeavor but Bonnie's struggles were wearing against him. Making a deep rumbling sound of frustration Kai slid his hand off her chest pulling both arms over her head and held her wrists with his left hand putting the other back in place, getting through the last of the spell feeling her wrists and chest burning up under his palms before he was blown backwards into the closet.

"It works," Kai coughed pushing away shoes and bags of clothes stumbling his way back out.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked sitting up rubbing the same spot above her chest.

"Yeah, are you?"

"I think so," she nodded once and he hesitatingly reached for the side of her neck, bracing the electric shock to shoot him backwards and hummed when it didn't happen; lifting her chin up to look at him. "I feel pretty good now, actually."

"Well you're about to feel a whole lot better," Kai said with an undercurrent of flirtation, grabbing the Bennett Grimoire off the dresser and leaning over her as she pushed herself back to give him room stretching them out sideways across the bed.

Laying his clothed chest flat across her nakedness Kai had to take a minute to look Bonnie over and stop himself from letting his urges get the best of him, not able to resist running his nose up the side of her neck to her ear and feeling her shiver in response. Breathing out a rough sound as Bonnie readjusted underneath him Kai glided his hand down her right arm lacing his fingers through hers and pulled them over their head resting on the bed. Kai flipped open to the correct page and lifted onto his knees putting a few inches of separation between them as he started in on the second spell, the flames reigniting in an instant.

 _Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Viras, Purgal Animum Sous Obscarus. Phasmatos Repallus Tantian, Maltuscanum Anium Par Vas._

Bonnie breathed in a deep exhale of appeasement, massaging her hand up his chest and neck into his hair anchoring herself to him and he couldn't do anything but watch every satisfying expression cross her features.

"Okay, this might be more difficult than the last one," Kai huffed through gritted teeth feeling his body tense seeing Bonnie coming undone in front of him when he's putting in minimal effort.

"So much better," she whispered and he breathed out wanting to wrap his arms around her and thrust into her but needed one hand to keep the connection and the other to hold open the Grimoire.

Saying the chant again Bonnie's grip tightened in his hair pulling his forehead to hers and grinding up into him in the same movement, letting out a gasp feeling him hard against her.

"You are the opposite of helping right now," Kai ground out tucking his forearm that was still holding her hand under her head for leverage and driving forward, his chest vibrating over Bonnie's breathy noises puffing out against his face.

The flash of light in Kai's peripheral to his left drew his attention to the blown out candles signaling that the spell was complete and sealed his lips over Bonnie's before she could come back down from her little bout of elation. Bonnie's small whimper in his mouth almost had Kai losing all sense of control, his body curling around her in response and deepening the kiss holding onto the side of her neck. He could feel her tugging near his chest and leaned back watching her eyes go straight to his shirt and unclasped his right hand over her head to tear the top half open in one quick move; the action being one of the sexiest things Kai has ever seen. Going back in Kai kissed up her chest, his hands kneading and massaging everywhere his lips went and groaned when he felt Bonnie's teeth sink into the crook of his neck hoisting her up into him. Feeling her fiddle with the last buttons Kai scooted back off the bed pulling the shirt over his head and yanking her shorts down after.

"Kai – the rule," Bonnie muttered reminding him of the _no sex clause_ in her Gram's house.

"We don't have to do anything; I just want to touch you," he admitted hoarsely, crawling back over her and sliding his hands across her body watching her react to him.

"What spell did you do earlier so the kitchen didn't get destroyed?"

"One of the external shielding spells to protect the room."

"There's a shield that protects the entire room?"

"Mhm."

"Why haven't we been using that the entire time?" Bonnie puffed and Kai trailed his hand farther down her stomach staying on his knees and brushed his fingers over her clit making her arch up into him, a sound of want falling out of her lips as the drawers rattled inside the dresser.

" _I like it._ "

Bonnie pulled his face down to hers; her lips and nose almost touching his making Kai's level of control drop another two points and felt her breath hot on his face.

" _Say the spell._ "

Grating out the words so low he was surprised it was even coherent, Kai glided his tongue over hers the moment it was over and explored her mouth the same way he was with her body; sensually slow and suggestive to build up that burning need inside. Bonnie lifted into his fingers driving them deeper and let out harsh pants in Kai's ear dragging her nails sharply down his back jerking him forward unconsciously. Withdrawing his fingers he snaked his arm around Bonnie's waist hauling her up and felt his back thud against the headboard as she threw a leg over him and moved gently over Kai's sweats, closing his eyes as his head fell back.

"You look like you're holding your breath," she teased leaning in leaving small pecks under his jaw as his arms caged around her hips.

"I probably am," Kai smiled lazily sliding his hand over her skin and pressing forward feeling her thighs shake around him, " _but so are you._ "

Bonnie's hands moved aimlessly from Kai's chest around his shoulders and neck and into his hair as her nails left scratches across his skin, his self-restraint diminishing the harder she clenched around him moaning out fragments of incentive. Leaving gentle kisses up Bonnie's chest and neck Kai brushed his lips over hers breathing heavily over her bouncing into his touch and felt her movements turn erratic when he held onto the back of her head and slid his tongue inside her mouth, growling in the back of his throat and swallowing her groan as she fell apart around him. Panting into his mouth Kai let out a dark noise when Bonnie grinded into him hard as stone underneath her and leaned back as a hunger masked over her eyes.

"If you even _think_ about it I'll lose my mind," Kai warned and smiled brighter when Bonnie's flushed face turned red.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I _always_ know," he said with a tilt of his head kissing her nose and cheeks before letting out another shaky breath as Bonnie steadily rocked into him making every muscle tense and ache.

"I still don't believe you're psychic, _Colonel_."

"You should, _Scarlet_ ," Kai gritted through clenched teeth running his other hand up her spine sliding both around her neck, "I've been reading your mind all night."

A wicked smile surpassed her lips as a hint of mischief shifted her posture, trailing her fingertips down his chest and stomach playing with the waistband. Kai couldn't hear anything over his own deep breaths staring at Bonnie's parted lips and flexed his fingers inching her in closer as he tried to keep it together. Lifting onto her knees Kai thought Bonnie had pressed her chest in front of his face as an offering – which he gladly accepted, but it wasn't until he felt her hands pulling at the drawstrings that he knew what she was up to.

"If you think we're both going to be naked, on a bed, and not having sex then you are out of your mind," Kai let out in a rough undertone as her fingers slipped under the waistband.

"But there's not enough room with the boxers on."

"You're telling me," he muttered and felt her thighs shaking over him from laughter, "I'm just forewarning you."

" _No sex in my Gram's house_."

"Then _one of us_ should probably keep our clothes on," Kai stated logically, every part of him hating the words he was saying as moments from the kitchen started springing to mind. Bonnie scooted sideways off the bed crouching down out of sight and back up wearing the same pair of blue see-through lacey underwear smiling with a feeling of accomplishment. "You know I can just tear those off too, right?"

"Wrong; these ones are staying on," Bonnie said dismissively kneeling next to his thigh on the bed and tugged down near his hips, his mind going through five or six different ways this could end and lifted off the mattress briefly as she pulled down both his boxers and sweats past his knees.

Kai's entire body ached; his dick so hard it curved up to his bellybutton and felt like he could lose it by the slightest touch. Bonnie's eyes darkened giving him a once over before tossing her leg back over, her thighs rubbing up on his underside in passing causing him to reach around and yank her into him. Grumbling's of sounds started to blend together when Bonnie wrapped her hand around him firmly, pumping with a quick rhythm giving his body the illusion it was the real thing and felt his body temperature rising.

There were many moments where Kai could have flipped Bonnie crushing his weight into her and pumping into the thin material until he found sweet release but this was something that she wanted to do, and far be it for him to interfere with another person's conquest. Against his every urge Kai tried steering clear from the uncontrollable vigorous path that he favors and went with his second favorite; persuading Bonnie to see things to his liking and feel the same desire he can never seem to appease.

Leaning into her Kai sucked and nibbled his way up her chest and neck running his hands leisurely across her body. His right arm trailed around her back feeling the energy buzzing out of his fingertips tracing up her spine as the other glided across her smooth skin over the lace and traveled lower gripping Bonnie's inner thigh under her cheek and her breath hitched causing her to squeeze him tighter. Easing his fingers back and sliding them under the barely there fabric Kai ran them through her folds resting the pad of his thumb against her rear and jumped when Bonnie's palm slammed against the headboard a few inches to his right. His body vibrated from laughter and he sealed his lips over hers still smiling trying to soothe her electrified state with impassioned kisses, feeling her body curl into him holding onto the side of his neck to take control.

Bonnie grinded against his thighs and fingers making them curve feeling her squeezing him so tight he didn't know how he was still holding himself off. Fighting the need to finish Kai put more pressure against his thumb and ran his other hand through her hair keeping her locked in his hold. Violent jerks broke through Bonnie's self-restraint, pulling at the roots of his hair while digging her knees into the mattress and gasping into his mouth; the overall effect triggering the memories from earlier tonight as her hidden confessions started replaying on a loop.

" _Bon_ ," he ground out, the hoarse sound vibrating in his chest when she picked up the pace and her legs started to tremble around him.

Pushing his fingers in sharply Bonnie bowed backwards tugging her hand up with the movement and Kai's chest heaved hearing the blood roaring in his ears. He kissed softly up her stomach and chest repeating the movement and felt the impact of the headboard against his head and back as Bonnie grabbed the sides of his neck riding out her orgasm; watching her come undone setting off his own and snaked his arm around her to pull her chest into his. Bonnie continued to massage herself over him and Kai clenched his jaw feeling how stiff he still was, knowing how much more built up tension and endurance he had within him. One of the only things he's discovered that he hasn't liked from getting closer to Bonnie is this feeling of still wanting more after; whether it be what they're doing now, their _somewhat_ friendship, or anything in between - and the incertitude was wearing on Kai's composure.

"I don't know if I'll ever get enough of you," Kai murmured leaving small kisses against her collarbone and up her neck.

Hovering in front of her face Bonnie closed the distance and exhaled a deep breath through her nose relaxing into his touch as his fingers traced designs across her bare back. Kai's body still felt alive with a charged energy but he could feel hers rapidly decreasing; her comfortable posture nestling into him the more her exhaustion kicked in and leaned back resting her forehead against his with her eyes still closed.

"We're taking this to the grave," Bonnie whispered, "tonight never happened."

"Oh, but it did; and it is gonna happen again... _very soon._ " Kai teased and rolled his hips up into her hearing his voice coming out gravely. Bonnie's thighs clenched in response to Kai's dark promise and groaned in frustration pushing her head away from his as he laughed. "If I shower are you going to fall asleep?"

"Mhm."

"Well stay awake for two more minutes I'll be in and out," he promised pecking her lips and easing her off his lap to the left seeing her slowly fall into unconsciousness.

Kicking off the clothes near his ankles he swiped the boxers off the floor and headed across the hall to the shower, rinsing himself off and turning the water on extra cold to chill down his fevered state of being. Drying off and slipping back on the boxers Kai smirked seeing a rumpled half naked Bonnie cuddled up waiting for him, crossing the room and crawling up the bed to her. Kai listened to her grumbles of protest feeling him shift her around and lay down on his back near the middle, pulling Bonnie up and over to lie on top of him. He was waiting for the beating against his chest or a sign of discomfort but Bonnie's fatigued state had her readjusting pushing herself up slightly to bring her face into the crook of his neck. Feeling her breath tingling against his neck Kai wrapped his arms around her holding onto his wrist to keep them locked and Bonnie's hand slid up his stomach resting against his collar. He could feel Bonnie's limbs unwinding the longer he had her in his embrace and exhaled the same relaxing breath and drifted off, taking her with him.

-x—

Kai woke up like a bolt of lightning – not uncommon to how he generally came to before Bonnie arrived – and felt weight pressing down on his chest; flipping the attacker underneath him and taking a moment to blink through the haze seeing Bonnie sleeping a few inches away. Letting out a sigh of aggravation he tried shaking the wary thoughts free that used to surround his mind of the constant internal battle, always seeming to catch him at his most vulnerable when his defenses are down. Kai was almost used to the heightened state of paranoia, skipping past acquaintances straight through to BFF's once he hit puberty and that lingering obsessive suspicion has become a part of him that he tries to use to his advantage every chance he gets. Joshua Parker may have tricked the naïve young boy, afraid of what he was and unsuspecting of the gruesome turn of events that would unfold, but he was dealing with an entirely different beast now.

Up until now both men have had their advantages of plotting and planning; analyzing every possible drawback the other could blindside them with and having the resolution for it in place before moving on to the next one. Kai has gone over at least a hundred different ways how he could either come out victorious against his father or be defeated, and the latter didn't leave him with too many bright outcomes. While Kai has had the run of the world for the last 18 years, free to investigate his childhood home as well as other coven members and picking through every piece of information he came across, the trail still went cold May 1994 leaving all of his other predictions purely up to speculation. His father's one upper-hand is that he's been able to continue to communicate and brainwash the coven while Kai's been a million miles away doing hard time just _imagining_ the monstrous way he's described his son over the years. Being secluded from the coven was nothing compared to solitary from his family, but there was one girl in the coven – a freshman his senior year who seemed to have a soft spot for him, and Kai's only angle to get his foot back in the door.

Reaching over Bonnie's shoulder Kai grabbed her phone seeing 8:23AM on the front screen and typed in the four digits she told him to use the night before, scanning through the options trying to find the internet and use this ' _Google_ ' everyone seems to be so fond of. It took a few wrong turns but Kai finally found himself at the right website, checking times for the 8 hour flight he could pilot from his First Class seat and saw there was a roundtrip leaving at 9:45AM. If his calculations were correct he wouldn't get back until somewhere in the _witching hour_ which Kai thought was pretty suitable and decided to go for it. His lips pursed seeing the $488 at the top of the screen and would have to think on the go how to deal with that since he was limited on time.

Staring down at the borderline naked girl in front of him Kai had to take another full minute to absorb and appreciate this picture; one of the rare occasions Bonnie's moral high-horse and the nagging voice of reason take a break leaving her exposed to him. Not wanting to risk passing an electric current through her skin by running his hands across her, Kai settled with brushing his lips over hers and smiled hearing the hum in the back of her throat. Backing up slowly off the bed Kai ran upstairs getting dressed quickly in jeans, boots, and a black _Save Vinyl_ t-shirt and threw his wallet, a few magazines and sweatshirt into the backpack so he had something on him and headed back downstairs. Rummaging through the cabinets and getting a variety of snacks he made his way back into the bedroom and spotted Bonnie's notebook on the dresser, flipping open to a blank page and scribbling ' _be back tonight – don't miss me too much!_ ' sideways across it before sticking it on the table next to her head.

Heading out the door and grabbing Sheila's keys without a second thought Kai hit the road for the airport, roughly a twenty minute ride and it was tipping past 8:50AM already. Pushing just past the speed limit and making his way effortlessly through the familiar streets Kai walked through the front doors at 9:15AM and scanned the room looking at the unsuspecting targets of his scheming. A rich suit in dark sunglasses chatting away on his phone to Kai's left caught his attention first, checking all the things he passes before reaching the guy and spotting the revolving rack of gift cards. Walking by casually he swiped a card running his thumb over the black strip on the back and looked behind him intentionally barreling into the guy sending his wallet, passport, and phone skidding across the floor.

"Oh man, I'm sorry," Kai said heartfelt, giving his phone a nudge with his foot sending it in the other direction from the wallet drawing the suit's attention away.

Crouching in front of the wallet he took his pick from four potential credit cards and slid one in front of the gift card, muttering ' _recensere_ ' and bringing it back into view a perfect replica. Sliding the gift card back into the wallet and his credit card in his back pocket, Kai stood up apologizing again for not watching where he was going and tried not to laugh at the obliviousness when someone is on an " _important phone call_ ". Kai made his way over unhurriedly; swinging the backpack around his front to find his ID and ran his thumb over Mr. Luxury's name repeating the spell and watching his name take its place, doing the same to the birth year on his ID.

"How can I help you?" a middle aged man smiled.

"One round trip to Portland, Orgeon, Sir," Kai stated broadly, sliding his ID and credit card across the counter for him to look over.

The man looked over his every feature going between his picture and face – Kai's grin wide since that was his actual ID from 1994 and not the card he should be concerned with, and moved onto the transaction. Kai was fluent in not showing any outward signs of what's happening inside this determined mind and kept his expression level as the card went through without a hitch and slid over his boarding pass.

"Enjoy your flight, Mr. Parker."

"Thank you," he said in a chipper tone, grabbing everything off the counter and heading to Terminal 4 for his painfully long flight.

It surprised Kai that this first trip across, that he has taken so many times... was apparently until the end of time. He tried flipping through the magazines, watching the terrible movies that were playing on a loop, and chatting with other people nearby until he talked each and every ear off but the flight still dragged leaving him to watch all of the checkpoints he made on his trips passing through. By the time the plane landed it was just after 6PM with the sun close to setting and fueled his fire; renting a car and heading for the last known address he can recall his friendly coven member residing in, pulling into the driveway fifteen minutes later.

Taking the steps two at a time Kai rang the doorbell and hoped this was still the right house, about to hit the button again when a gorgeous blonde appeared in the doorway; making a move to speak but breaking into a wide grin instead. Whoever was standing in front of him had to be a model, only a couple of inches shorter than his six foot frame with a pair of long legs under her jeans and bright yellow top; looking to be the All-American beauty with blonde curly hair and smoky gray eyes .

"I knew I would have the wrong house," Kai laughed, "I was hoping someone I knew still lived here."

"What's their name?" she questioned in a sultry voice.

"Ashley Stone."

"Yeah, she's here; who are you?"

"An old friend," he smiled and she looked him over questionably, probably wondering how exactly a person that looked her age could go way back with someone who is close to forty. "How do you know her?"

"Hey Ashley!" she yelled into the house looking back to him smiling, "She's my sister."

If there was any color in his face he was certain it just faded away with his smile, his memories flashing back to hanging out at this house with Ash who had a five year old sister at the time. "Anna?"

"AnnaLynne," she corrected scrunching her eyebrows, "who..."

"Kai?" drew his attention away from one almost unrecognizable face to one that looked a little more familiar standing behind her. Both had the same blonde hair but that's where the physical similarities stopped; being opposite in height, light eyes vs. dark, and their overall appearance.

"Ash," he beamed glancing back at the little-girl-turned-model as a wave of clarity washed over her, "been awhile, how have you been?"

"What are you doing here, Kai?" she hissed stepping up to him and pushing Anna behind her arm, an incredulous side glance coming across his features as he squinted in perplexity.

"You think I came here to hurt you?"

"No – I don't know – _what_ are you doing here?"

"Well you were one of the only people in the coven I could stand to be around, and vice verse so I thought if there was anyone that wouldn't try to kill me first chance they got then it would be you. See the thing is, I'm a few years late on the whole ' _becoming leader of the Gemini Coven_ ' thing and I really want to get that out of the way, and I am literally days away from that happening. The only bump on that road to easy living is the current leader himself who I'm sure you've gotten to know even better since I've been gone – and is still a heartless son of a bitch."

"Kai, after what you did..."

"I know, and I can't possibly expect you to understand the things that happened that led up to that night but I can tell you that at least half of the story my father gave you is false; like I was born evil or snapped one day of the blue. You don't owe me anything but other than my sister you were the only one in the coven I hung out with, I feel like you know me a little better than what my dad's been feeding you."

"I knew the kid you were before all of _that_ happened," Ashley stressed leaning against the doorframe and shooting a glance behind her, "AnnaLynne go in the other room."

"No, I want to hear this."

" _Now_."

"I'm a part of this coven too."

"She's got a point," Kai smiled, "the more people that like me the merrier. So I was hoping you knew something that could get me out of this tight corner."

"Why would I know?"

"My dad and your mom were pretty close when we were growing up."

"She passed away," Ash said dismissively and Kai gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why are you sorry, she didn't like you."

"There were _moments_ ; remember that one Halloween?" Kai recalled thinking back to the twins first Halloween with Josette and all the little ones with Ashley and Anna tagging along.

Kai watched Ash's expression momentarily shift playing through the memory of everyone dressed up, including himself fresh out of high school decked out as Captain Hook and their adventurous night of trick r' treating that was actually enjoyable. His eyes shifted over her shoulder to Anna staring back at him with the corners of her lips turned up, tilting his head a fraction from curiosity when she didn't look away.

"A lot has changed since then, at least for some of us."

"Are you referring to my dashing young looks?" he winked, "I'm like a fine wine - I'm even better with age. My life isn't what it used to be either Ash, but this one occurrence is the only thing keeping me tied to the past and it's something I have to do."

"The coven leader won't let that happen."

"And how is he going to stop me; what is he planning?" Kai looked back and forth between both girls pleading with his eyes hoping one would crack and could sense her little sister's willpower draining and locked in on her. " _Please_."

"It's a trap," Anna spilled and Ashley's glare shot back at her.

"Anna _Lynne_."

"He has a right to know, doesn't he? You've told me for years you hate our leader and his methods, and Kai is somebody who can change that."

"If Olivia and Lucas merge then Joshua _won't_ be the leader so it will change no matter what."

"Not necessarily," Kai chimed in, "they're both under a pretty tight scrutiny and will continue to do whatever my father thinks is best. I on the other hand will loosen the reigns, change the rules, and give everyone a little more independence. I know he's probably scared you all straight telling you ghost stories of me coming back to take over and destroy the coven but that's not my intention; I just want to survive."

Ashley's brows drew down in sympathy, biting her top lip contemplating if she was going to actually tell him and Kai glanced up at Anna looking down at her with an expression full of anticipation.

" _Just tell him_."

" _Fine_ ," Ashley huffed staring straight in the eyes, "I may have eavesdropped on a conversation the other day between the leader and his right hand man about some spell being complete that sealed your fate, and that it was only a matter of time."

"What spell?"

"It's actually more of a hex," she corrected, "one that needed you to die and be resurrected for it to work."

"How would he know you'd come back if someone killed you?" Anna asked and Kai smirked at his father's cunning skills using his own defense tactics against him.

"Let's just say that's not the side of the family I got my looks from. He really put a hex on me?"

"Sounded like it; he said now there was no possible way you would be able to merge with Josette and survive, even if she dies too."

"Why would she die too?"

"Your dad's going to use your sister as bait to reel you in and once you try and merge with her whatever hex he put on you will _kill_ you, and probably her too." Anna explained in simple terms that still sounded foreign to Kai as he rubbed his hand over his face and through his hair in frustration.

"That's _great_ ; I just barely make it out of my eternal 1994, I get killed by some vampire lackey and still manage to come back to life feeling phenomenal – now to be told if I attempt to merge with my twin and siphon her magic then it will most likely take us both out."

"Tough break," Anna said through a crooked turn of her mouth making Kai puff out a laugh.

"Yeah, you could say that. Well thank you – both of you, I really do appreciate this and it's definitely useful information. Can I return the favor?"

"How?"

"Head east; get into a nice change of scenery down in Virginia where half of the coven has migrated over to."

"Why would I want to do that? Our whole lives have been there, this house-"

"That's _exactly_ why Ash; this little bubble has been your whole world and it's always been under my father's power. Whether I become the new leader, or Josette, or one of those rotten twins _all of us_ are over there and it already seems more... normal."

"How so?" Anna perked stepping around Ashley and past Kai onto the porch.

"You don't feel like you're some _outcast_ in a _magical coven_ that you can't tell anyone about because you know they won't understand. There are vampires and werewolves and rogue witches spread all around the towns surrounding Mystic Falls; it's the Oasis for the supernatural. My friend is a witch and she's gone to school and lived her life out a normal teenager, even when she discovered her powers in high school and everything took an ugly turn. I stayed there for a summer when I was fourteen and I loved it, the woman taught at the same college they now all to go to and Josette's at the hospital five minutes away."

"I don't know about that..." Ashley let out unsure while Anna's expression conveyed the opposite.

"Why don't you sleep on it, you still have a couple days before the coven changes... or doesn't," Kai shrugged and look between the two girls giving each other side glances. "Does one of you know the time?"

"It's 7:28," Anna said pulling her phone from her back pocket.

"I have to catch a flight back at 8 but think about what I said about moving; I could use a couple more familiar and friendly faces around. And thank you, I'll get in touch with you in a few days when things settle down."

"Be careful," Ashley said out of habit, Kai always being the risk taker in all things magic and physical stunt-wise that seemed to bleed into his everyday life.

"Always am," he nodded repeating his usual response and backed off the steps and across the yard, hopping in the car and zooming off the airport for another adventurous waiting game.

The trip back didn't seem nearly as painful; the first four hours blurred into an undeviating train of thought on how he could get around this massive sinkhole that erupted ten feet away from the finish line, and the last four hours were in and out of consciousness. By the time he pulled himself out of the airport and into Sheila's car it was after four in the morning and Kai was 85% positive he was going to crash on the way back, astonished with his skills of apparently driving with his eyes closed when he found himself outside the house. Kai hummed in content knowing he only needed to get less than a hundred feet and would be curled up beside Bonnie asleep within minutes. Turning the knob and heading straight for the hall the light from the TV on his left caught his attention and his line of view went to the tiny little ball of a person wrapped up in a blanket on the other end of the couch. The position looked less than comfortable and Kai had a sneaking suspicion Bonnie was trying to wait up for him.

"Hey," he said softly rubbing his hand down her arm and resting against the side of her knee, "you know there's a bed right at the end of that hall."

"Kai," Bonnie rasped out in a deeply provocative voice, "where have you been? What time is it?"

"It's really late, come on I'll help you up we can talk about all of it tomorrow."

Kai lifted her up by the waist before Bonnie's still half-asleep state could respond, holding onto her hips to steer her way into the bedroom and pulled back the sheets before she face planted into a pillow and rolled over to the opposite side. Barely able to keep his eyes open Kai stripped out of his shoes, jeans, and shirt sliding under the covers and leaning forward pushing his right hand under Bonnie's pillow and stretching out across her back. He rested his head with his lips just below her neck and threw his other arm over grabbing onto his wrist near her face, more or less caging her in and Bonnie's steady breathing calmed Kai's down until he was able to fully pass out.


	12. Chapter 12

The day before the merge had turned into one hazy argument-filled blur between Bonnie and Kai, and it was fair to say they had both won an equal amount. After Kai filled her in on his spontaneous trip to Portland Bonnie had been nothing but questions all morning; how will merging with Jo kill you, what other options are there, and what she knew was his favorite – does that mean you won't go through with it? The evening progressed into speculations and the justifications behind their reasoning, and the only thing that was discovered by the end of it was that they both had the same unyielding stubbornness.

The only real task they had accomplished was getting Kai up to speed with this century and buying an iPhone – how he already had a credit card with money handy still a riddle to her. After waiting all day and night for him to come back and calling her friends every half hour to make sure he hadn't killed anyone, Bonnie wasn't about to have a repeat performance while Kai is off being reckless coming up with a plan Q. By the end of the night his tension was visible like a thick fog in the air pressing down on her shoulders like a physical weight until Kai reseeded into his mind stewing in silence.

"You could always-"

"Stop it Bonnie, I'm going through with it."

"Yeah well it sounds like that'll be the last thing you do," she snapped back and he shot her an icy glare from the other side of the couch.

"I'm figuring it all out as I go and I've made it this far."

"And now your dad has pushed you into a corner where if you try to do the merge ceremony with Jo you'll die."

"And if I don't and I stay powerless my father will have the new leader kill me, or worse."

"There's worse?" she questioned and knew the answer the moment it left her lips, his fist clenching on his lap and readjusting his position as the anger seeped throughout him.

" _I'm not going back there._ "

"Kai… if you just talk to Luke and Liv-"

"I did that already, _and_ I did it the nice way so extra points for me but Olivia still seemed a little cross and Lucas was even more unwilling. You try to kill a couple kids _one time_ almost twenty years ago and it's like this unforgivable act they'll never get over," Kai scoffed with a roll of his eyes, "not everyone's perfect."

"Kai I would _still_ be looking for revenge if that was our situation, and they haven't yet so I think you're making progress."

"It's not enough," he shook his head, "If they won't back down and if it's really true that siphoning Josette's magic will give me a one way ticket back to Hell, then I need a proposal that will solve both of those complications. Up until now he and I have been head to head in this race and he's throwing out tricks right at the end that he knows will either interfere or distract me."

"If it helps, that was probably the big surprise that you've been anticipating and he doesn't know that you know – that has to be an advantage, right?"

"It _is_ beneficial, that I agree with. But if I know the way my father plays the game he still has one or two other hidden moves waiting as all of his pawns fall into place. You're right about him backing me into a corner, he's trying to get me checkmated; taking my twin out of the equation puts me in check."

"You're really favoring these chess terms, huh?"

"I'm thinking as my coven leader would so yes, I have used these absurd terms frequently throughout my life and believe that they are the perfect analogy."

Bonnie looked over Kai's tired eyes from running through theories all day and watched them slowly close as he yawned, opening them halfway and dropping his temple against his fist.

"You should really get some sleep, big day tomorrow and all."

"I will."

"And it's already after midnight."

"You can head in if you want I'm going to sit here for a few more minutes."

"Okay," Bonnie hesitated before standing and heading back to the bedroom, taking off the giant sweatshirt leaving her in the same shorts and tank top from the other night and hopped into bed waiting at least fifteen minutes before storming back out. "I can't go to bed with you just sitting here brooding."

"Hm?" Kai hummed still lost in thought and Bonnie pulled him off the couch, pushing him by his back down the hallway.

"You're going to drive yourself crazy, you already did it to me by the time we hit dinner so for your own sanity _go to sleep._ "

"I need to predict his moves first so I can counteract them."

"What time does the ceremony happen?"

"At sundown."

"Okay then you have the whole first half of the day to continue to obsess over it," she rationalized sitting cross-legged under the hovers, Kai's heavy lid's staring down at her before crossing the room and stripping off his jeans and shirt sliding in beside her.

Looking down to her left at the side of Kai's profile her eyes scanned the rest of his rigid posture and scooted down on her side landing in front of his distant expression. The worry line across his forehead was unmistakable from his scrunched eyebrows and Bonnie lifted her hand to smooth it out with her thumb watching it fade and glanced back to Kai's vibrant clear eyes inspecting her.

"It's going to be you."

"What?"

"You're going to be my dad's secret weapon to use against me; he's gone after Josette, my powers, and you're the last in my little trifecta. I don't want you to do anything stupid like go and reason with him or see him under any circumstances, alright? He's already trying to kill me, and my twin, and probably the reject twins too so I'd like to avoid adding you onto that list."

"Kai-"

"Don't fight me on this; just for once listen to me."

Bonnie couldn't put her finger on what exactly Kai was expressing; aggravation, uneasiness, apprehension or a mixture of the three noticing his jaw was ticking. She was feeling slightly on edge taking in his rare seriousness especially when it's directed at her and felt the need to ease some of that anxiety that was quickly filling the room. Putting her head on Kai's bent elbow sticking out from under the pillow Bonnie brought herself in closer running her right hand over his ribs and behind him, drawing designs across his back in lazy movements feeling his knotted muscles loosen up after a couple of minutes. His right hand moved from under the pillow wrapping around her shoulders so she could rest her cheek on his bicep while the other trailed under her shirt, pulling her into his chest leaving his lips a breath away.

" _Sleep,_ " Bonnie whispered brushing the bottom of her lip over his observing his heavy lids fighting to stay open to pick apart every small detail, " _close your eyes._ "

She smiled at Kai's body listening to her without a conscious thought and nuzzled into the crook of her neck as soon as the burden of staying awake started to lift. Bonnie let out throaty giggles feeling Kai's lips bring goosebumps across her skin as he trailed up and had her break out in the shivers when he exhaled deeply near her ear. Unbeknownst to her Bonnie couldn't shake this feeling of compassion wanting to ease his thoughts hovering around of all things her own safety against his father; the only thing coming to mind also seemingly working and kept gliding her fingers across his bare back until his breathing slowed and evened out, Bonnie's following soon after.

xx

"What do you mean?"

"I mean his dad is _here,_ " Caroline repeated, "At the house talking Damon's ear off."

Bonnie glanced over her shoulder to Kai's still peacefully dormant features and stood up dressing in jeans and a blue halter top. "Can you keep him there for another fifteen minutes?"

"Oh I'm sure that won't be a problem."

The phone call ended and Bonnie was out the door within minutes, off to do the one thing Kai specifically told her not to a mere few hours ago. He warned her not to try and reason with the man and that there's no point attempting to sway his opinion, but what else was she supposed to do? Kai's options have turned from slim to bleak stuck between merging with his sister and dying or blowing off the merge and _still_ potentially getting executed from his father or new coven leader; if there was a possibility she could get his dad _not_ to kill him if he stepped down then she was willing to take that risk.

By the time she arrived at the boarding house Bonnie was winded from parking around the corner to not be spotted, and circled around back for another way in likely that everyone was in the living room hashing it out. Maneuvering through the house with ease she tiptoed into the dining room near the entryway that connects the two rooms and stopped when she heard a man's almost recognizable voice.

"Malachai has a Bennett witch in his corner!"

"Sorry Papa Parker but you're wrong; Bon-Bon will always be on our side."

"Wake up Mr. Salvatore – where is she now? How much time have you spent with her since she's been back? You are severely misinformed, Miss Bennett has established some type of bond with my son from being trapped and alone with him and he will use that to his advantage. She has already proven she will fight for him - I can't have that, I need you to bring her here and make sure she stays for the duration of the day."

"I called her," Caroline responded from the other side of the room, "I thought she might want to talk to you before all of this happened."

"Where is she?"

"At her house, said she would be here soon."

Joshua's head perked up and scanned the possible entrances Bonnie could be walking through, or if he was shrewd – lurking in. His casual stance wandered around the room staring at the front door for a moment before shooting in her direction making her lean back flat against the wall.

"So what's your plan?" Stefan spoke up drawing his attention away from where she was standing.

"To stop my son."

"Okay _how_?"

"Hopefully with a little help from your friend," he smiled and Bonnie fought he urge to scoff.

"You think Bonnie will help you?" Caroline asked.

"And how do you think she'd do that?" Damon finished.

"By distracting him; Malachai has had one thought in his mind for eighteen years until a Bennett witch unexpectedly appeared which prevented him from giving his revenge plot his _full attention._ Miss Bennett is extremely beneficial to both sides and ultimately the one she chooses will be the other's undoing."

"Kai does seem pretty fond of her," Elena laughed and Bonnie scrunched her nose gritting her teeth, "so I doubt she's just going to jump at the opportunity to lend a hand in hurting him."

"I'm not _hurting_ him I'm _stopping_ him from becoming a magic-fueled practically immortal leader of my coven whose first order of business will be destroying anyone who had a hand in locking him away. I know you all have no reason to trust me but take my word that Malachai _will_ continue to cause torment and suffering if he survives the night."

"I thought you already severed the freaky twin connection," Damon commented, "if he can't steal her magic then there's nothing to worry about."

"You should always be concerned when it comes to Malachai's determination in getting what he wants. Keeping Miss Bennet out of reach will shake his concentration and he'll have to retaliate in one way or another."

"Meaning?"

"He'll come find her… or he won't. Either option has its upsides; all I need from you all is to detain her."

"I don't know," Caroline thought out loud, "Kai could come looking for her thinking she betrayed him, or he could _not_ come for her and Bonnie will be mad at us for keeping her here."

"Not to mention, she'll," Elena began and cut herself off.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" Caroline spoke over her.

"I'm afraid not."

"Well Bonnie should be here in a few minutes so you can explain this all to her."

"I think it would be best hearing it from all of you, I feel that my presence may sway her opinion so I should get going before she arrives. Call me the moment you have her and we'll discuss from there."

Turning abruptly Joshua was out the door and out of sight, Bonnie blowing out a slow breath hearing his _distraction tactic_ Kai already knew his father was going to enact. Different emotions started swirling around, one of the most paralyzing being outrage towards the ones closest to her since everyone besides Care practically _agreed_ to hold her hostage and let Kai run off and get himself killed, or worse. Shaking her head Bonnie retreated back across the room and out the same door she came in, not in the mood to be anyone's bait when her back collided into something once both feet were planted on the ground.

' _Somnum'_ sounded behind her and then everything went dark.

xx

A cool breeze across Bonnie's face stirred her senses, her limbs stretching restlessly trying to pull her out of her sleep-daze and heard someone's feet crunching against the ground getting closer. Memories of what happened last tried replaying through her mind, getting all the way out of the house before it abruptly ended and a deep formal voice reverberated through her skull bringing her back into awareness. Bonnie's eyes shot open in the same movement of pulling her hands free from their confined space and looked down at the heavy shackled cuffs around them.

"What…"

"I picked up that trick from you, actually," Joshua's voice bellowed leaning against the tree beside her, "the very same ones that blocked my magic from that boarding house through the woods."

Bonnie looked at her surroundings, the familiar woodsy area hitting her instantly the moment her gaze passed over the entrance to the cave. Looking overhead she took in the darkening sky knowing Kai would have been wondering where she was while simultaneously coming up with a new strategy and she had been knocked out through all of it.

"Why am I here?"

"Well you heard your friends' indecisiveness – since you were eavesdropping in the other room – and I just didn't believe that they were going to be able to successfully detain you, especially in the house Malachai knows fairly well by now. No, the goal was always to have you close by my side today in hopes it would be enough to draw him away from this brief span of time. Because if my attempt at getting you back to present day taught me anything Miss Bennett, it's not to underestimate the simple yet undeniable power of a deep affection between two people. The only downside that arises developing a bond like this is that it becomes your biggest weakness, and I'm afraid you've already shown your true colors on the matter. The last words you said to me were ' _I can't let him_ die' and you've proven it by putting your life at risk for his, so it seems only fitting to see if my eldest can show the same compassion in return."

"You picked a bad day to test out that theory; his mind's a little preoccupied in other problems. Besides wasn't it you that told me Kai can't feel anything towards anyone?"

"I still believe that to be true, but because of you he was able to snap himself out of the _7 levels of Hell_ which is no easy feat and he's come back stronger. Malachai doesn't react to situations like the average person such as you and I would; where we have deep-rooted feelings changing the way we behave and perceive something, he can only express those emotions by mimicking what he's seen in others. And my son is no halfwit; his high IQ was proof of how excellent his calculated moves were when he learned to " _play the part_ " throughout high school, so convincing he had some people fooled until the bitter end. But that's all I believe this to be – an act, and I'm confident this will wake you up from who you think Malachai is to his true self; a selfish kid who manipulated you until he got what he was after. He doesn't care about you; he can't."

Bonnie's jaw was clenched so tightly she was wary she may chip a tooth; the devil and angel on her shoulders splitting her brain down the middle and whispering their beliefs until the sound got so loud she could hear the roaring inside her eardrums like a tsunami crashing through her restraint.

"So why did you really bring me here; so Kai would come, or to show me the kind of person you think he is?"

"Both," Joshua smiled, "have you ever played Chess?"

"Not since I was a kid, but I'm familiar with the terms."

"Well if everyone was laid out across the Chessboard Malachai and I are the Kings, your friends are Pawns, my coven is the scattered pieces of Rooks, Knights, and Bishops, and you are the Queen. By seizing you I've put him in check and he either needs to reciprocate or sacrifice his second in command to keep himself out of checkmate. As far as the ceremony is concerned I have done everything I could manage within my power to make it so Olivia and Lucas are outside enacting that chant. Malachai has a very small window he could fit through that could still potentially end in his death but the opportunity is there so I am in your company as a distraction. If this decoy doesn't work and he still chooses power over saving you, there is more likely a chance to sever that budding connection that's progressed between you two."

"There's no connection; like you just said, what he feels isn't real."

"But what you feel _is_ , against your better judgement you've let your guard down and was lured in and tricked by my son's superficial charm like many others and thus the outcome will end in one of two ways; walking away or getting your heart broken."

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at the notion of Kai being capable of breaking her heart, rolling onto her side as the amusing sounds progressed hearing the words coming from his dad of all people. Even if she did admit to Kai that she liked him and found herself wanting to be around him more he still wasn't capable of holding that control over her, because she refused to hand it over. After the cataclysmic ending to what Bonnie had considered a _transformative_ first love her heart was locked in a vault far out of reach and she had every intention on keeping it that way.

"I think you read a little too much into how I feel about Kai. I did what I had to in the prison world because after everything I didn't want him to die in front of me, and I also felt somewhat responsible in the matter but it doesn't go much farther beyond that."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Then why are you spending time with him?" Joshua wondered out loud walking casually around the tree she was against, "why continue to try to help, and put yourself on the opposing side of your friends? And all this change in such a short amount of time; it seems that he may have an emotional hold on you. But I must inform you Miss Bennett, you are not the first young lady to fall for his façade; I can recall a few inconsolable and enraged faces that passed through my home while Malachai stayed impassive. I can see the internal struggle you are having; not letting yourself accept these new thoughts and affections that have recently arisen and trying to keep him at an arm's length and that is very astute of you. You are able to accurately assess the situation and turn it into an advantage where you remain unharmed, so long as your solicitude doesn't interfere. If you do find yourself caring about him and being concerned for his wellbeing I can assure you those sentiments won't be returned, Malachai's sociopathic qualities hindered his development in any real relationship. My sincere advice to you would be to walk away before my son sinks his hooks in too deep."

With every ounce of her being Bonnie tried to ignore everything that was coming out of Mr. Parker's mouth but could sense her tenacity was dwindling; her own insecurities about what's been escalating between them blending into the reoccurring thoughts of uncertainty that she hasn't been able to shake since the day she met Kai. It disturbed her more than anything once the initial shock had subsided that Kai's father was having a formal conversation about her and his sons _non-_ relationship, and the things he was saying not only making sense to Bonnie but the very same deductions and conclusions she's come up with as well over the past year.

"Hello son," pulled Bonnie out of her thoughts and over to Joshua holding her phone in front of his face, Kai's loud laughter chiming through the speaker.

"You know I thought to myself, ' _where is Bonnie and my father today of all days when I am about to be crowned the new coven leader'_ and had a sneaking suspicion you were together."

"Why don't you come meet us, we're hanging out by the cave," his dad said casually followed by silence on the other end, "I'm not trying to stick you back in the prison world, this was just a place I was certain you would know how to find."

"I'm a little busy tonight," Kai said in a dark undertone, "how about you both meet me where the twins are and we can get together, have a few laughs, witness a Russian-roulette of _twin-sanity_ and call it a night."

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple for you, this is the equivalent to a _door 1 vs. door 2_ scenario. Behind door number 1 is your all-consuming need for power and destroying what little family you have left, the outcome of which has a high probability of your death. Behind door number 2 is your new potential _something_ that hasn't seemed to turn her back on you yet, but this could be the defining moment to change all of that. What is more important, the power… or the girl?"

"I don't see why I can't have both," Kai replied smoothly.

"It seems you're on a pretty tight schedule and it's already close to sundown, you'll only have enough time to make it to one. Think this through Malachai; if you let Olivia and Lucas fall next in line as leader your life will be spared and you can finally start a new chapter, perhaps with Miss Bennett," Joshua offered with a noncommittal gesture.

"We both know you wouldn't let that happen."

"I have no control over anything after tonight-"

"Ah but the day is still young," Kai cut him off, "plenty of time to screw me over."

"Son," he sighed, "make the right decision; don't let your narrowmindedness for vengeance devastate the lives of the few people you have left. Miss Bennett missed a free ride out of your prison world and put her life on the line for the sake of your safety; are you willing to do the same for her?"

"Maybe, if I thought she was in danger, but I know she's not."

"What makes you so sure?" Joshua questioned glancing down at Bonnie out of the corner of his eyes; the icy glare sending a nauseous rise of bile up her throat.

"You're a twisted old man but you're not going to hurt Bon to prove a point to me, unless it's that I can get even angrier then what I'm feeling now."

"Perhaps, but there will be repercussions if you choose door number 1," he responded offhandedly prompting her instincts to kick into gear, pulling at the cuffs and leaning against the tree for leverage to push herself up before Joshua clasped his hand around her shoulder holding her in place.

"Don't touch me," Bonnie huffed swatting at him with the cuffs as a plastered curved line was splashed across his face.

"I can see why you're so taken with her Malachai, that _Bennett fire_ ; this could be your happy ending – if you were ever capable of having one, you just need to back down and let everything run its course." Bonnie tried swallowing past the lump in the middle of her throat, already knowing what Kai would choose but feeling the weight of its significance hearing the way his father was putting it. "But like I said before, you can't have it both ways by choosing one you _will_ lose the other and either will come with its misfortune that you'll wish you could change. So what will it be son; will you put Miss Bennett first, or are you still only concerned with yourself?"

" _I_ am my main priority," Kai said without hesitation and even though she already knew it was true Bonnie couldn't control the painful twist in her chest hearing the words vocalized, "But I still think I can have it both ways. Bon, if you can hear me – you're going to be fine. I will be coming back for _both of you_ as soon as all of this is over."

"Hm," his father hummed, "I can't say I expected anything different from you."

" _Likewise_."

"You may find that you regret this decision one day soon."

"You mean doing the one thing that cements my safety in this world, yeah I don't think so."

"If you can pull through it and come out on top."

" _I always win,"_ Bonnie heard him say through a smile, "I'll be seeing the both of you very soon."

"We shall see," Joshua smiled, "And Malachai… it may not be at all what you expect."

With a swipe of his thumb the call was over and his hard stare fell on Bonnie, her limbs shaking anxiously at the frightening intent behind that look. Her legs started moving before she was fully aware and started sprinting in any direction, making it a whole ten feet before her body was paralyzed and felt Joshua walking up behind her steadily bringing himself face to face.

"I do apologize for this in advance."

"What are you doing?"

"Although Malachai only has about a 5% survival rate, he's been known to thrive under pressure and because of this I've had to take out an insurance policy to make sure I also survive this new throne of leadership."

"And how am I a part of that?"

"It's safe to say you are the one person that my son would go out of his way _not_ to kill, and because of this noteworthy factor you have been chosen to have your life bound to mine."

" _What?_ " Bonnie let out panicked.

"It sounds more drastic then it is," he said in the same formal monotone, "but essentially it is a linking spell where our life force is connected to one another; thus if I find myself near the brink of death from the coven's new leader you would be suffering from the same ailment. I do hope this problem never arises but with him out free with the potential of all that magic, it's vital I take these safety precautions."

"Please – don't," Bonnie whispered as she played through all of the excruciating circumstances she could find herself in if Kai stays unaware, the conversation she just listened in on making her question if it will even make a difference.

"No need to look so frightened it will take a minute, at most, and all I need is a drop of your blood."

Reaching into his back pocket Joshua pulled out a small pocket knife and grabbed her hand, feeling her body temperature boiling as he held out her index finger and pressed the blade down before he was forcibly blown backwards into a tree breaking her feeling of paralysis and took off in the opposite direction. Running with her wrists cuffed seemed to be a task all on its own, forget about the stress of the coven leader twenty feet back looking for the profitable gain against any version of a potential threat; Bonnie seeing with clarity where Kai got that trait from. She felt the tip of her shoe snag on a vine jumping over the tree stump and lost her balance sending her crashing into the dirt and leaves. Joshua clamped around her arm and flipped her over aggressively reaching for her hand, the shock of discomfort warming her from the inside and detonated out of her sending Kai's dad soaring backwards and landing a distance away with a hard impact.

"How are you doing this?" He murmured to her – or himself – before looking back up with a frostiness that chilled her to the core; the merciless look one she's seen on him before through Kai's memories. The flare up of animosity he let show sent a jolt of terror through Bonnie's body, not knowing if Kai's protection spell will be what gets her out of this tight spot or the thing that ends up making her night even worse.

 _Globus Ignis Incendia_

Turning her head to the words of Latin Bonnie ducked seeing a flare coming directly at her, turning to see a ball of fire hit a tree.

"Are you crazy!"

Another fire ball formed in Joshua's hands and he widened his range bringing the flame brighter and hurling it at her before she could move; screaming and flinching at the oncoming attach and getting blasted with heat. Opening her eyes Bonnie looked around her slowly at an invisible force field surrounding her in a dome, the outer layer sizzling as the flames passed all around her and fizzed out.

"Clever boy," his father appraised, "a shielding spell."

"He could have used one of these growing up," Bonnie jabbed feeling the warmth burn through her skin, the response igniting a similar effect in him as he stalked closer.

"If he wasn't the black sheep of the coven he wouldn't have needed any special treatment," he sneered looking her over, "you may have gotten a glimpse into his past but there is still so much you don't know; _I_ am not the bad guy, the one who just left you for dead is."

Bonnie took a step back feeling the physical blow of that statement and looked at him through narrowed slits, "I am _not_ dying today."

"This is true, and even though he put up an amateur spell to keep you from harm I am still the supreme of this coven and he knows I can take you out of the equation just as easily. Fortunately for you I need you to stay _alive_ and healthy so I can do the same, and all I need in return is a small amount of Bennett blood."

"I'm really not interested in being linked to you for the rest of my life."

"Maybe it won't have to come to that; it all depends on Malachai's actions."

" _The rest of my life_ ," Bonnie grumbled under her breath kicking a rock, "there's no guarantee he won't kill you anyway."

"I know," his father nodded, "but it lowers the likelihood."

"And what if you die in some freak accident? Or I get taken out in some vampire-witch-werewolf feud; does that other person automatically go down too?"

"No, this linking spell can only be triggered by a supernatural act within my bloodline; if something was to occur to you or I outside of those boundaries then nothing would happen to the other. This won't interfere with your magic in any way and you can go about the rest of your life unscathed, so long as Malachai complies."

Bonnie shook her head at the ludicrous notion of Kai surrendering – to his father, and not eliminating or heavily maiming him after all of these years thinking about it. He may be deemed a sociopath, and has the violent past that more than demonstrates that truth, but everything that he's gone through falls back onto the man standing in front of her. This was the same person who broke Kai down physically and mentally until he altered into a new version of himself; cunning and ruthless with a corruption for power. The only one who stood in the way of what he has considered his ' _destiny_ ' and locked him away in solitary for nearly Bonnie's entire lifespan. It wasn't a question of _if_ Kai was going to kill his father – it was _when_ , and she had a sinking qualm that his surface-level sentiments for her won't be enough to liberate her.

" _Ooph,_ " Bonnie let out when she felt the metal cuffs yank her forward tripping over her feet and falling on her knees and forearms, groaning as she pushed her upper body back up.

"Now was that so difficult?"

Joshua crouched next to her pressing a small plastic rectangle to her arm that looked like the blood slides they used to test with in Biology, watching a small trickle of blood run down her arm from the fall and land on the plastic. Next he pricked his finger placing a single drop of blood on the opposite end and held the slide between his index fingers and thumbs beginning to chant.

 _Phasmatos Tribum Melan Veras Raddiam Onu Pavadus Ponemus._

At a snail's pace the two drops of blood gravitated towards each other, a lightning-bolt spark shining bright when the two droplets mixed before one big blot ended in the middle. Placing another slide on top Joshua secured it in his front coat pocket, Bonnie feeling slimy like she was somehow just used or violated and felt a bile of repulsion creeping up her throat.

"My apologies again Miss Bennett, this was strictly business; I'm sure we'll be running into each other again soon."

Before she could think of a response Bonnie looked up to see that she was alone… again, and started to feel the burden of what she had just experienced. She wasn't sure how Kai had managed to stay neutral for all of those years, only enduring a couple of these prominent speeches herself and already feeling like she was slipping into a desolate state. It was as if Bonnie's brain was being squeezed out like a sponge, the vital pieces like her self-worth and thoughts on how others regard her spiraling down the drain until a sense of hollowness was left in its wake.

The day started off thinking about everyone else; Kai and if he would survive the day, what her friends must be saying to each other about the two of them by now, where was Joshua and what was he up to, even if the twins were going to successfully merge which would inevitably mean one wouldn't make it. Bonnie's mind had not taken a break since she came back to present day, today heightening to a level all of its own, and the magnified state of recognition consequently opened her eyes in understanding that no one had been thinking about her. Her friends had sided with Mr. Parker, Kai chose power and himself; the only one who gave her a second thought was the coven leader and that was to guarantee his own safety. Bonnie felt sick; an acute sense of wretchedness encompassing her and keeping her tight within its hold, the forlorn and desolate thoughts carrying her each step farther through the woods into town and away from the boarding house.


	13. Chapter 13

Kai raced through Mystic Falls town square; the locater spell he put on Olivia and Lucas leading him to its central location and yelled out a noise of frustration as the wind picked up around him sending leaves swirling up like mini tornadoes. It took him longer than he thought to get here and the unexpected phone call from his father took up more than his small amount of time could afford. Voices chanting in unison started to become louder and he followed the sound throwing up his left palm when he found the twins sending Olivia backwards five feet, fully unconscious.

"What did you just do?" Lucas wailed looking between him and the slumped figure near Kai's feet.

"Well I was sitting at home thinking of ways to merge with my sister and become the new leader all the while not being able to siphon her magic when it hit me – what if I crash the other twin's party? I know it sounds a little out there but think about it; we're both siblings from the same bloodline and thanks to our coven leader it can be argued by outward appearances that we're the same age."

"What about Liv?"

"Oh she'll be fine, wake up in an hour as good as new – well that's up to you that is. Or you could wake her up, finish the merge, and kill her. We both know you're stronger, must be something in the men's genes in this family so consider it an act of kindness I didn't take the easy way out. This way, if by some miracle you do survive the night you'll _both_ still be here to tell the tale for generations. If not," Kai shrugged and reached into his jeans for the pocket knife slicing across his palm, "would you really do anything to save your sister?"

The hesitation in Lucas' eyes cleared and his posture straightened; his self-assuredness and the quick change of pace showing in his overall appearance. "You're not afraid to go up against someone that might actually beat you?"

Kai's throaty laughter sounded louder in the still night; clasping his blood –soaked hand into Lucas' and pulling him a step closer, " _take your best shot_ , _little brother_."

 _Sanguinem desimilus! Sanguinem generis fiantus!_

Both men closed their eyes and started to chant the spell louder, the weather spiraling around them sensing the new source of magic and increased rapidly as each minute passed. Kai lost track of time, his sense of reality and even his sense of self the longer they went on and forced his eyes open not able to see through a hazy film. He could hear his voice vibrating in his throat more than understand what the actual words being said were, blasts of light posts around them exploding encasing them in darkness as his mind felt like it was drifting away from his body until the connection broke and he hit the ground.

"Luke! Lucas, please wake up. Can you hear me?" Kai licked his lips, his throat so dry the action did nothing to help and breathed in a deep gust of air. "He's gone – he was forced into this stupid thing because of me and now he's gone."

Kai turned his head left hearing his sister's voice and saw her sitting on the ground with Lucas across her lap and Damon standing over them. Pulling himself up off the ground he faced them head on feeling the new magic starting to swirl around his system.

"You win some you lose some," Kai stated bringing both sets of eyes to his, "except for me; _I never lose_."

Sensing Damon about to super-charge him Kai cloaked himself and grinned at the dumbfounded look cross the vampires face, sticking around a moment longer before turning and heading back towards Sheila's house to tell Bonnie the good news.

xx

" _This – fucking – blows."_

Kai repeated the sentence like a mantra; out loud, in his head, at inanimate objects as he launched them across the room and anywhere in between for over 72 hours. Three full days and he was certain without a doubt in his mind this was the worst thing he's ever had to go through, and that's a very colorful list. By the time he had made it back to the house it was after 8PM and Bonnie was nowhere to be found; once he settled in on the couch and was about to dig into a plate of dinner, the hallucinations started in. And these were not quick blips he was seeing in passing – oh no – Kai was trapped in an all-out acid trip from the Inferno where the only way through was to endure it; and he was re-experiencing every agonizing moment of his past.

It started out with memories Kai didn't even know he _had_ from such a young age, the _Greatest Hits_ that his dad stuck him in over a week ago seeming to have knocked some of them loose as he was a bystander watching the mini six year-old versions of him and Josette chasing each other around the front yard laughing and screaming. Running around the kids grew a year older, and then another; Kai's chest tightening seeing the close and natural bond him and his sister always seemed to have before the rest of his life caught up with him. Playing tag and board games progressed into sports and video games, never realizing one didn't seem to leave the other's side even when Josette started to get other friends in elementary school and integrated him into their lives too. His heart pounded and felt the shortness of breath struggling to inhale into his lungs watching the fresh faced teens blow out their candles and Kai shoving her face into the cake, Josette's instincts to get even over getting mad kicking in and pushed two handfuls into his face as he tackled her in a bear hug and fell to the ground in hysterics.

Most of what he was seeing weren't any major moments that he would look back on but whatever was happening was forcing him to see everything in a harrowing outlook. Kai closed his eyes and curled up on the side of the couch as his body shook inside and out, teeth chattering thinking he was cold but it was followed with a harsh heat wave wafting over and encasing him drawing the water out of his skin like a sauna. Glimpses of the tree house started zooming into focus and Kai tried unsuccessfully pulling himself out of it, leaning over and shouting in agony scanning through a month's worth of fear and panic jolting him out of his dreams. Kai's angry sounds faded into sobs as his chest ached so badly he couldn't breathe, gasping in gulps of air recalling his bubble of isolation and anxiety that's now hitting him twice as hard as the years of night terrors played through until he was shipped off to Sheila Bennett's.

Aside from his sister Kai had never felt accepted or normal around anyone… until Sheila; the woman he had only met a handful of times before she opened up her home and welcomed him in with no judgments. Kai didn't know there were people like her out there; kind, genuine, safe, _loving_ , and it was the only time he could recall feeling that warmth of a parent's affection, the shock of awareness shooting up his spine and neck making him light-headed. An overcast of times spent in the house played through with a steady momentum of home cooked meals, getting new outfits, and discussions to pass the time landing on a heartfelt embrace of them at the door and Sheila reassuring him he had a home here and encouraged him to stay. Kai could feel the devastation of his teenaged-self wanting to stay more than anything but couldn't get out the words, flipping the coffee table in front of him in exasperation and storming out of the room.

After a cold shower Kai thought he had cheated the system by sleeping it off but the bad dreams quickly took over pulling him in where he couldn't break free. His father plagued his subconscious hearing every cruel remark and physical blow to his body and self-esteem draining away his vigor until he awoke the next morning dripping in sweat. Running his hand across his stomach Kai stopped halfway and looked down, an unfamiliar bit of muscle suddenly appearing and sat up taking the few steps to the dresser and froze staring at his reflection. The changes weren't monumental but for someone who's looked exactly the same for over twenty years the slightest tweak is momentous. His line of view first went to his chin and jaw where the beginnings of stubble was sprouting and trailed down to his broader frame and firmer chest; shrugging and smirking at the single upside the merge has provided thus far.

Kai had never gotten into any hard drugs during his time in Portland, dabbling in things here and there after high school without getting into anything serious but was positive whatever this state of being was had to be similar to withdrawal. The shaking, nausea, headaches, tense muscles, and his racing heart was causing him to hyperventilate and sweat more, all of which seemed to be testing how irritable he could get before finally snapping. The day blended into the night and countless items had been at the hands of Kai's demise, being smashed to smithereens as he fell in and out of lucidity getting detached from reality.

A clear image of Gabriela caught Kai's attention drawing him in to the time spent with his only _actual_ semi-serious girlfriend, the twisting in his chest momentarily at ease seeing what had to have been the happiest version of him; still blissfully ignorant about what's right around the corner. Kai had known even then that the relationship wasn't going to be anything profound because he could only show her an illusion, but he liked to pretend that the disguise was who he really was and sometimes he could even trick himself. Seeing him and Gabby huddled close in their cap and gown made his stomach turn and drop, hearing his own voice yelling over hers that she couldn't love him, she didn't know him, and that he never felt that way about her. Kai could still feel the slap across his cheek but it was Gabby's broken-hearted expression that had his arm tight across his stomach thinking he was going to puke.

Desperate to escape Gabriela's haunting happy memories turning sour the longer he reflected on them Kai was thrown an unexpected curveball seeing his mom slowly become visible. Little tidbits surfaced of encounters growing up; the recession evident seeing the timeline unfold from when she was a happy mother with a pair of twins to a coven leader's wife with a litter of her own. Somewhere along the way the familial bond with Kai seemed to be too much to keep up with, the scales tipping in his father's direction over his obvious hatred and she cut him off, putting all of her energy into breeding another set of potential leaders. Kai grabbed his pounding temples as the memory blurred and changed to him and Josette in his room arguing over the papers in his hand. His breathing felt shallow and he rubbed at his chest struggling to inhale when his younger self echoed off the walls about his parents magically creating the other twins and figuring out they were trying to sabotage him his entire life. Breathing in puffs of air Kai's vision clouded around him and went black before he sprang forward tumbling off the couch.

Looking around in half a panic, his chest pains and lack of oxygen pulled him back into focus trying to recall when he fell asleep. Stumbling into the bathroom the icy water cleared the rest of the fog and Kai tried to hold onto this moment of clarity, heaving in air as his heart hammered loudly and the room spun around him. The shower turned into a scorching steam pouring down his shoulders but the blistering shakes wouldn't stop spreading over his body, mixing with the reoccurring state of dizziness making him more than a little concerned he was going to pass out and be discovered naked and not breathing – _not_ the way he intended on going out. Switching the dial he dried off and dressed in boxers and sweats, Kai's body shifting viciously between hot and cold leaving him with limited clothing options and set off for the kitchen hoping to get something down before he lost track of where he was again.

Kai had managed to finish a roast beef and cheese sandwich and a glass of water making his way back to the kitchen and looked down at his hands holding the dishes, a hazy shift passing through him seeing a large kitchen knife in his right hand instead. Loosening his grip Kai heard the piercing shatter of glass and looked down to the plate and cup in a broken heap at his feet. Waving his hand the dishware reconstructed back together and floated across the room dropping them in the sink and heading for the bedroom in search of his phone. Swiping the sleek object off the bed he typed in 1972 and went to contacts, not realizing Bonnie put everyone else's numbers in his phone and scrolled back up to hers shaking his head from a rush of wooziness looking back down to papers in his hands.

Leaning closer Kai could see the words ' _Medical records of patient Mrs. Elizabeth Parker (Maiden Name: Laughlin)_ ' typed across the top of one with all the details of her complications during childbirth and of the abnormal discoveries during her autopsy. A lump formed in his throat blocking his airway and tears brimmed his lids reflecting back on the papers Kai read so frequently they were committed to memory. He felt the hurricane of his fury and desolation crashing down on him so fatally every muscle tightened and ached as he fought to catch his breath and threw the papers beside him rubbing furiously at his face. The room kept fading between day and night; a contrast of being alone in silence to hearing screams coming from all over the house of his younger brothers and sisters cracking the small shard of control he had left and slipped into his day of reckoning.

Kai wasn't sure how many times he played out the memory, counting up to a dozen before he couldn't take the anguish any longer and regressed into a shell of himself; his howls of torment as water streamed down his face drowning out most of the high-pitched shrieks around him. The low blow of betrayal when he realized his world was coming to an end because of his sister was what Kai was positive was going to do him in, but it was the shift in the way Josette looked at him a moment before their dad started it on the spell – like she didn't know him anymore, that pushed him over the edge until he thought he was honestly dying.

By the time he was pulled out of the hallucination it seemed to be early morning and Kai didn't bother moving for another few hours, every part of his mind and body hurting as the after effects of the merge continued morphing him into a pathetically emotional and on edge version of what he has always been. When he finally did drag his body off the mattress his gaze skimmed right over the unfamiliar face staring back at him, doing a double take before he could accept he was looking at his reflection. Standing tall Kai's relaxed and composed features now looked intense and pensive, a deep worry line visible between his eyebrows before he realized his reaction was what was causing it. His face all around looked more defined and filled out and the speckles of stubble was now splashed across his jaw and over his lip, not enough to come off of his face but still noticeable and he rubbed his fingers through it as he looked over the rest of him.

His peripheral caught his grin widening over the defined chest and abs misty from the layer of sweat and Kai's eyebrows rose at how huge his biceps looked from the bent angle they were in, eyes immediately dropping to his waistband and stripping to see the full finished piece and he felt so satisfied the suffering and misery seemed _almost_ worth it. With his clothes back in place Kai looked over his appearance once more and was appreciative he didn't look like a perpetual 18 year-old anymore; the buff exterior and aged face giving him a solid six years over his forever 22 self and wondered what Bonnie would think of his new image.

" _Bon…_ "

Muffled noises began increasing hearing Bonnie's voice arguing with Damon from afar feeling that initial sense of curiosity and intrigue wondering how a beautiful girl got herself stuck in a dangerous prison like his and instantly needed to know more. The longing from a distance came to an abrupt halt seeing the room in flames and Bonnie smiling confidently at him through them; Kai recalling this was the first time he thought he'd finally met someone who could keep up with his antics. The memories sped forward running through their rocky beginning and paused on him shooting an arrow through Bonnie's chest, the guilt coursing through his system and wrapping around his heart squeezing it tight until he yelled out and his fist collided with the mirror watching it shatter onto the dresser.

Kai let out ragged huffs leaning forward on the wood thinking back to Bonnie being afraid of him, avoiding him, and going out of her way to try and kill him feeling the harsh disparity from how kind and affectionate she can be towards him now. He hummed feeling his insides warm seeing Bonnie's smile and shimmering eyes baiting him as she willingly took part in their playful banter that he's come to expect in his day-to-day routine. A kaleidoscope of images passed by from all the time they've spent alone; starting with when Bonnie first lowered her guard and crawled into his bed and felt her smooth skin gliding under his fingers involuntarily pulling her into him. Kai's heart was racing so fast he could hear it banging against his ribcage like a drum as their secret rendezvous advanced into the ' _promised land_ ' and every inch of his mind and body craved to be near her. Whispers of Bonnie's confessions about him crooned in his ears smacking him with a rush of devotion fueling his emotional state until every memory was coated in fondness and an unshakeable sense of attachment.

The recollection of Bonnie's voice feuding against his dad wiped the tender and doting thoughts clean replaced by a white hot stab of culpability feeling responsible for his wrongdoing of leaving Bonnie alone with him in spite of everything she's done for his benefit. The nausea kicked in imagining the backlash and list of possible punishments his _old_ coven leader prepared for her and if she was able to escape his clutches, or if he called Kai's bluff and took her out to get to him. Panic started to set in as he searched around the bed for his phone and found it on the opposite side face down on the floor, a crack going down the middle of the black screen refusing to turn back on and he ground out a sound of aggravation throwing it to the side.

Making it through a late lunch and shower without any issues Kai was to the point of prayer that the hallucinations and _compassion-induced_ trip down memory lane was over as well as the exceedingly distressing physical transformation. He had lost track of how long he'd been enduring this, somewhere between a day and a week being a fair guestimate and struggled to focus on what he could last recall; Lucas' obstinate resolve staring into his eyes before they started the spell reminding him of himself sending a strike to his abdomen. Bending forward and holding the counter for balance he heard the echoes of Josette's cries that Luke died – that Kai was the cause of it – and the blame was suffocating him from within. For the first time in his life Kai was pretty sure he was experiencing remorse reflecting back on all of the hardships he's put his family through and the way he scared and betrayed the ones closest to him, losing their trust and the crushing weight of seclusion he's carried around with him all these years.

A new appreciation for Josette flourished reflecting on all of the things she had done and her refusal to give up on him through everything, even when it was plain to see that he couldn't be saved. She was the only person who knew the worst aspects of him and still showered him with unconditional love and he hoped that the same good-natured and nonjudgmental sister was still hidden under all of that disdain. Josette had never questioned the way Kai showed his affection and accepted him for what he was – flawed with habitually juice boxing her magic and all – but now he was given the unfavorable surprise of a shiny new psyche whose innermost self apparently has a fascination with compassion; sinking under the colossal weight of it pressing down on his shoulders. Kai hasn't always had the most well thought-out methods of dealing with his anger and seclusiveness; imagining his father's cold steely eyes filled with revulsion staring back at him, but it was the shame of dragging his twin through his eternal damnation that drowned out all the other noise in his head.

Intentional or not Josette ended up getting caught in an immeasurable amount of confrontations between the three of them; ranging from one trying to protect the other by taking their place - or fighting on their behalf, to them both being trapped to undergo the disciplinary act their coven leader had in mind. Whatever form of endearment Kai had for his sister was most appropriately expressed in situations such as these where he'd lock her in a separate room or goad his dad into cloaking them so she couldn't intervene; keeping her safe from harm the only way he knew how. The only time he couldn't be there for her was when he was on the other end of the knife, obliterating his one _somewhat_ attachment cutting the cord to that tether on his way to retribution. The violent altercation sent nausea up his throat and he ran to the bathroom throwing up what little remnants he had in his system and more or less stayed there for the remainder of the night, and then the upheavals of blood started in.

No form of healing or protection spell would stick as Kai struggled to stay conscious and get the Latin out before another wave of sickness surged through him making him sink farther. Somewhere during his semi-conscious state his anxiety-ridden thoughts that were playing through his head the entire day of the merge started to resurface and bombard him with the what if's and consequences of the repercussions of merging with someone who wasn't your Gemini twin. The first thought that passed by was that he would die during the merge and was still a little astonished his Hail Mary strategy paid off, but his apprehension for a worst case scenario might not be far off. If his current state was any indication of what he expected and he _was_ dying, then the rest of the Gemini Coven wouldn't be too far behind.

With his feet glued to the floor Kai made it with effort across the bathroom and hall into the room living and sat in front of the entertainment center, opening the cabinet and lifting his palm concentrating on a map until one floated into his lap. Placing the paper in front of him and slicing the bottom of his hand with a shard of broken glass Kai's blood trickled in the center and he put all of his energy for the next 45 seconds into a locator spell, the trail leading to where Josette must currently reside. Not having any motivation to make that flight of stairs Kai stood at the bottom imagining his bags of clothes murmuring ' _veni ad me_ ' until they came floating down landing on the steps at his feet, grabbing a gray t shirt and sweatshirt slipping on his shoes and heading out the door before his body could reject the idea and went in search of a cure.

xx

"Woah woah-"Kai huffed pressing his hand against the door blocking Alaric from shutting it, "listen, I need to talk to my sister."

"Yeah I don't think she's up for conversation right now," Alaric snipped and Kai leaned against the frame with his hand still on the door.

"I-"

"What are you doing here?" Josette asked turning a corner into view, looking as pale and sickly as he felt.

"Are you sick?"

"I have food poisoning; I've been throwing up all night and morning so I am not in the mood for your gloating today."

"That's ironic," he laughed, "you thinking I came here to tell you how happy I am that I won the merge – which I am – when in actuality I'm here to break the bad news."

"What are you talking about?"

"See there's this small issue I've been worried about since I found out dad put a hex on me to not be able to merge with you thus igniting this ' _hey you're not my twin but I'm doing it anyway'_ plan. I mean it worked, which… has its perks, but I've been awaiting the unwelcome negative follow-up act and I'm pretty sure it's center stage." Kai felt the jitters about to say the big reveal but his body seemed to be shaking for another reason, "where's your bathroom?"

Before either could answer Kai sped passed them to where Josette just came from and barely made it in time as blood sprayed across the toilet seat.

"Oh God!"

"I don't think you have food poisoning," he breathed into the porcelain wiping his mouth and falling back on his butt to face her, "we were supposed to be the ones merging, but I got Lucas' magic instead and now all of my pieces aren't put back together correctly – figures. I kind of feel like I'm dying, actually – and this is coming from someone with experience; and if I die you, Liv, dad, and the rest of our side show coven goes down too, so could you please fix me?"

"How do you expect me to do that?" Josette asked holding the side of her forehead.

"I don't know, but you managed to make it all the way through med school and got a shiny new career out of helping the ill-fated, I'm sure I'm in capable hands."

"Rick, help me get him into the study," she said over her shoulder as they surrounded and manhandled him not so gracefully into the next room, sitting on what looked to be an actual cushy table like in the Doctor's offices.

"So I guess no one ever told you not to take your work home with you," Kai commented checking her medical supplies scattered around half of the room.

"I figured I should be prepared in case someone from my past came back with another hunting knife," she said casually walking over to a table with cabinets overhead, picking up various objects he remembered from checkups as a kid and felt the sharp stab in his stomach over her remark, hanging his head momentarily and lifting it to Josette in front of him shining a light in his eye. "Any joint pain?"

"Mhm."

"Headaches?"

"Yep."

"Nausea?"

"Nonstop."

"Hm," Josette hummed sticking a thermometer in his mouth walking on either side of him to check his ears and swiped the thermometer heading back over to the table grabbing a stethoscope.

If Kai was feeling even a little more lively he would be making side comments left and right over Josette's _doctorly_ approach checking his heartrate, blood pressure, taking a swab to his mouth and even a blood sample to top it off. His vision started to blur and he shielded his face with his palms groaning out at the discomfort.

"Just because you stole half of the hospital supplies doesn't mean you needed their fluorescent lights too."

Alaric scoffed and hit the switch beside him, the dizziness still there but the blind stinging in his skull slowly subsided and Kai let out a shaky breath kicking his feet out like he usually ended up doing when sitting on something high.

"Well your heart rate's a little fast but other than that your BP is normal, vitals are fine, I'd have to wait on the samples I took but medically speaking there's nothing wrong with you."

"Duh… because I'm _magically_ infected," Kai stated through squinted eyes wondering how she would have thought a couple procedure lookovers would be the solution. A wave of disorientation clouded his vision and he swayed in place, leaning forward into Josette's shoulder and reaching out to stop himself feeling soothing cool flood through his body.

"That's enough!" Alaric boomed grabbing his arm and pushing him backwards standing in between them.

"Whew," Kai huffed putting his hands on his chest and stomach, "I feel better."

"Yeah, because you just got a charge off of my magic!"

"Sorry sis that was an accident, but I'm telling you – I legitimately feel _better_ ," he let out with a relieved sound and looked up to her as the realization hit, "I need your magic."

"Are you crazy?"

"Think about it; my body is rejecting all of these new _non_ -twin traits that I really hope don't stick because I was supposed to get your magic, not his. Luckily for you, you don't have to die for me to live this time so let's get to it."

Kai hopped off the table taking a step forward when the boyfriend blocked his path, "You're not going near her."

"I totally get this whole _macho safeguard_ thing you got going on here, its sweet – really, but what you need to consider is that Josette only survives… if I do. I need my sister to get me out of this one last tiff and then everyone throughout the states or Oregon and Virginia can go back to their regularly scheduled programs of witchcraft."

"Ric can I talk to Kai for a minute?"

"I'm not leaving you alone with him," he said turning towards her and Kai snorted leaning back against the medical table.

"I'll be fine; I'm pretty sure I could take him in this state anyway," she smiled and Kai knew she was wrong but figured it wasn't the best time to point that out, "and I know you'll be right on the other side of this door if I need you."

" _Right_ on the other side," Ric said back in his direction with what Kai assumed was intimidation and felt the grin spread across his worn-out profile, turning his head to look out the side windows until he heard the door click and lock.

"Thought your boo would never leave-" Kai began before Josette ' _Motus_ 'ed' him backwards over the table onto the ground, groaning out trying to balance his equilibrium before a searing pain ignited within his head.

"You just show up here sick and expect me to give you my magic – my only source of protection _against_ you – and I'm supposed to believe you're not going to stab me in the back or gut me all over again? What's your game?"

"I don't have a game!" Kai yelled out in exasperation gripping his hair and growled throwing his palm out towards her watching the same effect overtake her as she fell to her knees and the throbbing stopped. "As much as you want to believe I'm in this all for myself I'm thinking about the rest of you too."

"I don't believe you! Because you're a liar, and you're the worst kind because everything you say sounds so genuine that I want it to be real, but it isn't; it never was."

Kai glowered staring at Josette's indignant expression as they both stood and felt the affliction over what he knows to be true, his deception and manipulation becoming a fluent part of him the older he got. Yet he still felt the defensiveness hearing it coming from her, the only one he's ever been honest to - until recently.

"You're right; I'm the liar, the reject, the unwanted black sheep of the family. It must have been really nice for you to escape the world we grew up in and create your own; getting all the things you wanted out of life while I spent almost twenty years locked away in isolation like the coven's rotten secret. It's easy for you to stand here and judge me after all of this time thinking nothing but the worst of me, after _you_ were the one who had a hand in sending me there. And trust me," Kai ground out stepping closer feeling his emotions taking the wheel, "every inch of me wants to kill you for that – _EVERY PART_ – but I can't, because I won't survive without your help. You were the only one that could see the good in me when I didn't deserve it… when there wasn't any left, and I need you to do it again. I've been assessing my life in vivid detail over the last few days and I'm seeing things in an unusual perspective, I think you might like the new me even better."

"I don't want to know the _new_ you, or hear about what you had to suffer through - _and I hope you did_ \- from the ramifications of murdering our brothers and sisters," Josette sneered raising her chin and due to her heels and his absence of footwear they were essentially the same height. "And after eighteen years the first thing you do when you break free is kill yet another; you're exactly the same person you've always been."

"You used to be pretty fond of that kid," Kai jogged her memory, "I was your best friend."

Josette's eyes shifted from rage to sorrow trying not to break eye contact and keep up a front as a flood of old memories came barreling through. Kai had always been able to reflect back on moments, assess, and relay the information back without getting bogged down and never understood the process and toll that takes on a person until now.

"That was a long time ago."

"Sometimes it seems like a _lifetime_ , but that doesn't make it any less valid. But do you think we can continue this after you fix me up, I'm feeling… a little…" covering his mouth Kai heard the gagging noise coming from his throat expelling another round of red liquid as a trash bin was thrust in front of him. Heaving out all the remnants his blurry vision zoned in on Josette's flushed face and tilted his head. "You know you haven't gotten sick since I got here."

"Probably from all of the adrenaline, and the fear of being alone in a room with my brother again."

"I'm sure the feelings of shock and alarm will wear off soon enough," Kai smirked.

"I don't want it to; I don't want to lose this animosity and loathing towards you, and I don't want to know you," Josette declared and Kai bit down grimacing and looked away, "I'll give you my magic for the sake of the rest of the coven but this will be the last time we see each other, got it?"

"Well that doesn't sound like a deal I'll be able to hold up," Kai shrugged going with the honest route and watched the distant semblance slide back over her face.

"That's what's on the table, take it or leave it."

Tilting his head from side to side Kai contemplated not if he was going to agree to her terms but on possible methods of seeing her and winning her over. "Sorry, no dice; fortunately I have that pesky advantage of everyone we know ceasing to exist if something happens to me and _poof_ goes the Gemini Coven so I'm going to have to politely decline your offer and come back with a counteroffer. Give me your magic, _give me another chance,_ and we'll see how things go."

"No."

"Oh come on it's not gonna kill you," he said off the shoulder and cut himself off, "sorry – bad pun, but I'm not lying about that either if it alleviates some of the worry."

"It doesn't, and that'd be a first."

"I'm getting blindsided with a lot of firsts lately," Kai nodded in agreement, "and I'm ready for another so let's get this super charge of twin magic flowing."

"I'm still _not_ agreeing to have anything to do with you after tonight," Josette clarified, "but fine."

Turning on her heels out of the room Ric walked back in and she returned a minute later with a tattered leather bound notebook stuffed with old ancient papers and scribblings of spells, potions, crystals and stones, enchantments, divination, anything that could be found on _twin-friendly_ magic and the list continues. The cover brought back flares of the two of them huddled together no older than ten cutting out papers and pictures from Grimoire's and old books on witchcraft making arts and crafts days out of it.

"You still have that?"

Ignoring him Josette flipped to the back – their favorite section – skimming through the pages and pausing on one for a moment before putting the book beside her and glaring into his eyes, lifting her hands to cup the sides of his neck.

 _Oribos turai manecsitus. Orbiem. Oribos turai manecsitus. Orbiem._

Kai saw a bright light overhead and closed his eyes hearing papers scattering and getting blown around the room as Josette chanted louder. It felt like an IV was pumping cold water through his veins soothing his fevered body and bringing an almost eerie calm over him as everything within and around him seemed to slow down. Kai's heart thudded loudly in his chest, the sound dulling to almost indistinguishable and the surge of new magical energy magnified everything that was going on picking up on a faint pitter patter. Clearing his mind from everything else he inhaled deep and held still for a moment hearing Josette's steady rhythm vibrating through her words, leaning in closer and catching not one, but two other muffled heartbeats. The wind roared louder and the icy coating drew in from Kai's extremities until it reached his torso and had an instantaneous release of pressure around his chest, exhaling a strong gust of air as the spell ended, the light overhead dimmed, and the papers fell to the floor.

"You're going to be fine," Josette announced and Kai opened his eyes sighing in content.

"Thank you - and congratulations" he smiled actually feeling grateful that she helped him out and figured he'd return the favor, leaning in whispering, " _My twin's going to be having a pair of her own_."

"W-"she started to word and froze, her stunned expression causing his smile to spread and pinched her chin shaking it teasingly like he used to.

"I'll see you around, sissy."

Leaving her in what would probably be an all-day state of shock Kai took a last glance over his shoulder at Ric and headed out the door, inhaling a breath of fresh air for the first time feeling like he didn't make a disastrous mistake doing the faux-merge and set off for his next daunting mission.


	14. Chapter 14

Bonnie had been waiting for the metaphorical shoe to drop since she made it back home and ironically walked right into her inevitable doom the moment she decided to seek out Joshua Parker. Since then a snowball effect has spiraled; Bonnie's life being linked to a man she has grown to detest, arguing with her friends, losing all contact with Kai once he got what he wanted, and hearing the sorrowful news that Sheriff Forbes had passed away. It had been four days since Bonnie dragged her feet all the way to Caroline's house, reflecting on how she found her and Elena practically waiting at the door pulling her into a stream of apologies.

"We were only trying to keep you safe from getting caught in the middle."

"We never imagined Mr. Parker would take you if we didn't go along with his plan. And we kept trying to call but it would get disconnected."

"What happened?" Caroline asked handing her a cup of tea and sitting beside her on the couch.

"His intention was always to kidnap me so he could try and shake Kai's resolve, you guys were just the backup plan to hold me hostage _which_ by the way I was there and I heard everything. Why would you even consider that – especially coming from him?"

"You wouldn't be held _hostage_ you would be with your friends."

"And like I said we were trying to think of a way that you wouldn't be in danger stuck between Kai and his dad. You're safest bet is always with us Bonnie, I know we could have gone about it a better way…"

"You could have _trusted me_ to make my own decisions," Bonnie said briskly sipping her tea and looking between the both of them.

"What would it have been?" Elena wondered.

Bonnie let herself mull over the possible choices of sticking by Kai's side, trying to be the one to stop him, or choosing to be with her friends and taking herself out of the equation. Each came with their own persuasions but because of the ones closest to her making the decision for her, she was never able to come up with one on her own.

"I guess we'll never know."

"We _are_ sorry, but we don't know anything about the Parker's other than the grueling things we've been told and we just got you back, forgive me for being a little overprotective," Care said with an innocent smile.

"So you've been gone for hours; did Kai end up finding you?"

"No," Bonnie uttered without a hint of explanation and watched the girls look at one another out of the corner of their eyes.

"So…"

"So he's most likely in the middle of trying to stop a merge ceremony with his name on it."

"But Jo isn't going to be there."

"Do you think he'll kill Liv and Luke?"

"I don't know," Bonnie sighed having no idea whatsoever that she knew the twins Kai tried slaughtering so many years ago until their first girls night when they filled her in. "Last I heard _he_ didn't even know what he was going to do."

"Why did Mr. Parker want you with him and not us? Did something happen while you were with him?"

Bonnie contemplated if she was going to tell anyone what had happened the entire walk over; her spiteful anger and rational thought leveling the scale evenly until her own free will was left to tip it one way or the other. There was nothing any vampire would be able to do – the damage was done so to speak, and there was really only one person she wanted to stick that bad news to.

"I was out for most of it then waited for Kai to call and them have a chat and I was free to go, but you never know for sure with that man."

"Well you're going to be staying with me for the next few days."

"Care-"

"Please? The _Friends_ boxset is in front of the TV and plenty of blankets to go around. I need my best friend, and you need a break from everything else that's been going on."

Thinking over Kai's smug grin as he waltzed through the door after doing another heinous act, or failed and came back enraged… or not at all - had made her resolve fairly simple.

"As long as it's my decision," Bonnie shrugged and was tackled into a warm embrace between both friends and relaxed into the couch for the night.

xx

The next day Bonnie had slipped away from her reoccurring thoughts of what was happening between Ross and Rachel in _Friends_ and made a trip over to the Salvatore house with one person in mind in particular.

"I'm here, meet me on the porch." Bonnie hit end call and waited a minute before Damon sauntered out of the door, being shoved into it as soon as it was closed. "After everything you've heard about the Gemini Coven leader you were just going to side with him and keep me captive like some prisoner – _really?"_

"Don't be so melodramatic Bon-Bon you would have been spending the day with the ones you've been desperate to get back to rather than avoiding getting caught in the crossfires between the sociopath and his maker; there were worse options."

"Then you could have asked me! Why is that so difficult? Everyone thinks they can make up my mind for me; _I_ am the witch that comes up with the solutions that saves everyone's asses and I can take care of myself just as well."

"Friends help each other out; wasn't it you that said that to me once upon a time? Sometimes you don't always like the way they go about it but the good intentions are there, and they were there yesterday. "

"I appreciate your concern, but don't make decisions on my behalf again, okay? I hate that."

"What's wrong, didn't like the way things turned out?" Damon smirked, "with any luck this will be the last time you'll have to deal with anyone relating to the phrase " _Gemini Coven"_."

"I doubt it'll be that easy, things never are."

"Didn't you hear? Kai pulled some _Houdini card_ out of his 1994 backpack and merged with one of the wonder twins – and won. With any luck he's already on a plane halfway to Portland to get reacquainted with his herd of followers."

The shock that Kai's blind quest for power went as far as intervening and putting himself in the middle of the other twins ceremony - and winning, was almost up to par with the unwarranted thought that he was going to have to move back to his hometown and could already be gone. The rest of the conversation blurred in an out of Bonnie trying to remember why she was there and that it had nothing to do with this new information she begrudgingly received. There was a definite blanket of disappointment surrounding Bonnie the rest of the night into the next afternoon without getting a single call or text from Kai; awakening the beast in the back of her mind goading her with doubt and cynicism, scratching at her dignity and rationality.

The only event that pulled her thoughts from its recurring state was the startling hasty regression of Caroline's mom's health; spending the rest of the day and night in the hospital with her, Care, and Elena until she woefully lost the battle in the middle of the night. Once the reality sunk in the rest of the time had been set on autopilot taking Bonnie through five days' worth of errands in less than one - including casket shopping, getting together the floral arrangements, choosing the memorial service, and setting up the entire reception at Mystic Grill. There was also meeting with every person you do not want to come in contact with in one day such as their real estate attorney, a mortician, funeral director, priest, and telling all of Care's friends and family that there would be no wake, just a brief remembrance at Mystic Church _today_ at 6PM followed by the funeral and the reception.

Bonnie has known Caroline since she was a kid and knows how high-strung and compulsive she can be, her headstrong state of mind motivating everyone to do whatever is necessary to make sure it is all going according to her plan but Bonnie still couldn't shake this sense that something else was going on. Not having the chance to get back to her clothes she wore one of Caroline's black dresses, tight-fitted but appropriate in length with small cuff sleeves over her shoulders and the neck line dropping straight above her chest; black shoes to match and a small single diamond necklace. People had been filing into the church for over twenty minutes and they were just shy of 6PM, both Elena and herself trying to keep Caroline's head clear while they hung out front. They were just about ready to go inside when Caroline's phone started chiming in her small handbag, glancing at the screen and scrunching her eyebrows.

"Hello?" she questioned and eyes widened briefly, glancing at them both and smiling before looking over her shoulder at the church. "I think I can do that."

"Who is it?" Elena whispered.

"I'm at the church for my mom, the reception's later at Mystic Grill," Caroline continued ignoring Elena's questioned and paused, "um… thank you, okay."

"So?" Bonnie wondered when she hung up.

"Just one of my mom's friends, he doesn't think he'll make it in time so I reminded him of the reception," turning and straightening her posture, Caroline strode up the stairs into the church with them closely behind to the front pew and sat with Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, Matt, Tyler, Enzo, Ric, and Jo.

The ceremony began with every officer standing, half in the pews and the others up at the front and placed a flag over Sheriff Forbes casket calling for her over the radio; the act springing tears to Bonnie's eyes that she tried with effort not to blink as she tried holding herself together. Damon took the stage next and gave, what Bonnie had to consider, one of the most heartfelt things that's ever left his mouth; focusing on Caroline's strength and inner light, and what a hero Liz was to everyone she came into contact with. Sitting back down beside Elena Bonnie took note of their casualness but didn't read much into it, Caroline standing and walking a few feet in front of her drawing her attention as she began singing a beautiful melody for her mother. Stefan leaning forward was caught in her peripheral and she glanced over to his tender smile and couldn't help but do the same seeing the love etched all over his features.

The rest of the hour passed by in a haze and Bonnie could feel her queasiness rising thinking of going to the cemetery and standing over a grave, getting up from the pew and feeling her limbs shaking all over. Following the rest of her friends out she went towards the entrance and felt a sense of awareness like someone was watching her, scanning her surroundings and landing on a guy ten feet ahead standing next to the door. It wasn't the all-black attire – from shoes, to jeans, a button up with a thin tie to match, and a long ritzy coat – that made them stick out over everyone; it was the foreign profile peering at her with a pair of icy blue eyes she'd recognize anywhere. Stopping in her tracks Bonnie's body forgot how to breathe, blink, or move, as her line of view trailed up and down Kai's buff exterior and aged face looking like he's closer to 30 than 22. His eyes never seemed to waver from hers, his expression as per usual giving nothing away but made no effort to rush her and they both stood frozen as passerby's walked in between them.

-x—x—x—

' _What is happening to me?'_ Kai interrogated the fresh inner workings of his mind as he stared at Bonnie from across the room incapable of walking the ten feet to get to her. After Kai had fixed his phone – and the rest of the house – he called Caroline in search of Bon since her phone was off and told him he could meet them at Mystic Grill later. What he had heard was that they were _currently_ at the church and before he knew it he was dressed and driving to the center of town, making it halfway through the ceremony and watching from the back. There was nothing he had prepared or threw together to say to Bonnie when he saw her, never having to before but this moment was proving to be sufficiently more strenuous then he had anticipated. Kai felt the urge to chuckle at the impact of another first; not having anything to say or in his mind to jumble together and spit out. Caroline walking back through the door on his right caught his eye as she walked back to a statue version of Bonnie and stood in front of her for a moment before turning and staring at him with eyes getting too big for her face with each step she took closer.

"Kai…?"

"Hey, I really am sorry to hear about your mom," he said with a weight pressing against his chest, his eyebrows drawing down in discomfort and reached out to touch her bent elbow in… _comfort?_

"Thank you…" she let out with the same hesitation he heard on the phone and watched a small but authentic smile spread before she brazenly looked him over and tapped her chin, "you know something about you seems different."

Kai was surprised by the loud guffaw that erupted out of him and held up his arms looking down at his chest, "I don't know, is it noticeable?"

"Barely," Caroline shrugged, shaking her head and laughing and he smiled, seeing Bonnie behind her speed-walking to the door.

" _Bonnie_ , _"_ he urged side-stepping and blocking her path as she nearly stampeded into him to get out the door and had to check behind him to make sure he didn't fall backwards down the steps.

"I don't want to see you today," Bonnie dismissed striding down the steps towards a black car, "in fact; I don't want to see you at all. How about we go back to how things have been the last few days of ignoring each other, it'll be better that way."

"I wasn't ignoring you," Kai gruffed walking around her to stop her a few feet from the car, noticing she wouldn't look at him. "I was at your Gram's house _where you've been staying_ going through all of this."

"I don't have time for this, I have to go."

"Wait, I-" Kai rasped putting up his arms to block her not having the slightest clue what he was doing. Random blips of sentences sprang to mind about how he was sorry for leaving her with his father, not talking to her after the merge, scaring her, harassing her, hurting her… all spiraling at once leaving him tongue-tied and closing his eyes briefly trying to clear the blur of images, opening them back into Bonnie's hard stare. "I'm sorry – for _everything_."

Shifting her posture to almost defensive Bonnie's brows lowered and leaned away on her back leg as her eyes shot up and shifted between his; Kai sighing heavily seeing she not only didn't believe him but was deciphering what ploy he was trying to pull on her was. Hearing heels coming closer Caroline appeared on her side linking their arms and both giving Kai a look to step out of the way.

"So, do you want to ride with us?"

" _Care,_ " Bonnie gritted hip-checking her friend as Kai's smile spread and stepped to the side gesturing towards the car for them to proceed and Caroline pulled her by the arm into the limousine.

Sliding through the door behind them both took the seat stretched out sideways across the windows where Elena was already waiting and Kai sat comfortably in the middle of the double seats.

"Wow, what…" Elena let out and looked between him and the girls half a dozen times, "so you're back, _and_ you're a different person."

"I never went anywhere," Kai corrected, "and… kind of, I'll let you know when it starts getting better."

"Well you merged with your little brother and threw off the balance so there should be some backlash," Bonnie said looking forward out the window and Kai tilted his head feeling her friend's eyes on him but kept his gaze on the person in between them, leaning back and stretching his arms out on the leather.

"Oh there is."

Bonnie turned her head away from him towards Elena and stayed that way for the remainder of the ride, Kai coming up with zero percent of a strategy by the time they arrived and filed out circling around the casket. The girls huddled close together flanking either side of Caroline with the Salvatore brothers behind them and Jeremy crept up behind Bonnie, Kai's feet propelling him next to her before he had a conscious thought and looked from one to the other smirking that at least this newer version of him also couldn't stand the thought of the two of them in close quarters. The funeral was fifteen minutes tops, everyone throwing a flower on top of the casket and some putting their fingers against it and whispering prayers before leaving the area. Kai watched everyone do the same thing, similar to what he remembers at his own mother's funeral and felt a hand on his arm pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What's this?" Kai asked looking at the rose in Caroline's hand.

"It's a flower, just copy what everyone else is doing."

"But I didn't know her."

"You still helped her – and me, when she needed it most," she said and thrust the flower into his hand giving the next one to Bonnie and he followed her movements; walking up and placing it in the same spot looking between what he was doing and her. "Whoever would like to attend we're going to head over to the Mystic Grill for the reception."

Following them back to the car they rode in silence to the Grill and Bonnie seemed to be proving a point with how well she can avoid him even when he's within five feet of her. The place was decorated rather elegantly for a town bar and the turn out seemed pretty significant as he weaved through varying groups of people finding the girls at the bar.

"Three more of… whatever those are, and a Budweiser," Kai said sliding his ID with a recent photo across the counter and a credit card, leaning into Caroline and whispering " _what are those?"_

"Bay breeze," she tilted her drink in offering and he tried it, the tanginess catching him off guard.

"That's a lot of pineapple."

"Mhm, and cranberry."

"And vodka," Elena chimed.

Kai's eyes shifted down the end of the line to Bonnie finishing off the last of her drink and switching off glasses with the bartender, both doing the same and thanking him for the drinks before walking away.

"Can we talk now?" Kai asked quietly behind her leaning in attempting to avoid physically touching her as she continued walking. "Bon… you know I wanted to come and rescue you from the one person I've been trying to keep away from you _this entire time_ , but I couldn't. I didn't have enough time, and I knew you'd be okay and here we both are."

Bonnie snorted maneuvering through more people and the reaction struck Kai with uneasiness, veering her off course into the corner of the room near the front windows.

" _What are you doing?_ " she hissed and he leaned down closer to be eye level.

"What did my dad do?" Kai asked and it was like his throat was closing, watching her look at everything but him, "will you at least look at me when I'm talking to you?"

Squinted eyes sliced into his and he could feel his heart tightening and pound seeing the rage and distress aimed directly at him. "Well let's see; he knocked me out and kidnapped me, locked me in handcuffs to block my magic, and used me as bait in your game of _cat and mouse_ with each other. And after being with him for hours, you didn't come… nobody came."

Exhaling deeply with a bout of deflation Kai stepped towards her and Bonnie threw up her palm against his stomach, scanning down and dropping her hand before stepping to get around him but he put his arm against the window hindering her movements. Vivid conversations between them started to resurface over her memories of putting everyone first and Kai arguing that it was stupid and she needed to cut it out because they don't seem too keen on reciprocating those kind favors. His fingers clenched and turned into a fist against the glass thinking of the people he has met and gotten a fair amount of time to analyze still not living up to his low expectations, and some of them seemed pretty promising.

"Did anything else happen?" Kai pushed through and noticed an alter in her manner, "tell me."

"I don't know if I want to right now, during a reception for Care's mom who passed away _last night._ I had this whole idea to rub it in your face over the phone or in person if I saw you again but with everything I've dealt with today I really don't feel like adding another thing on top of it all."

"I need to know," he stated through what he figured was an intense stare with that worry line between his eyebrows he noticed yesterday in the mirror and replayed her response, "and what do you mean _if_ you saw me, where did you think I was?"

"I really didn't know, because I never heard from you. And then I assumed the next day when I discovered you're the new leader of the Gemini Coven that you'd be halfway back to Portland to get on with what you've been yammering on about for decades."

"And you believed I'd just leave, without a word?" Kai asked and had to take a moment to wonder if he was still blessed with the way he was, if he would go off and seek out his father and the ones in the coven who stuck him in Purgatory the first chance he got. "Would you have preferred it that way?"

Bonnie shrugged and looked to her left at the rest of the room sipping her drink, Kai not being able to fathom why her answer was so important to him. Looking up to his serious expression he saw a wave of uncertainty cross Bonnie's features and he understood the odd look she was giving him, the sternness he was portraying not generally a go-to reaction he has stored in his personality.

"It would have been easier. And you picked a bad day to show back up, how did you even know where I was?"

"Caroline," Kai shrugged and watched a heat of anger simmer in her eyes igniting his smile, "did she not tell you I was invited too?"

"She did not," Bonnie said through her teeth.

"Told you I was starting to win over some of your friends," he winked feeling a semblance of his old self and Bonnie rolled her eyes going back to her half-finished drink, "so if you started to get mad at me again it would really throw off the this steady rhythm we have going and confuse everyone."

"I _am_ mad, furious is a better adjective, but disappointed really drives it home."

"In me?"

"In me," Bonnie sighed with a shake of her head pulling her eyes up to his, "more useful that I figure it out now."

"What?"

"To trust my judgment," she said offhandedly and the underlying meaning sent a physical blow to his abdomen thinking back on a dozen different times he's bulldozed through her judgment and got her to lower her guard enough to admit she felt something for him.

"Compared to… what; your intuition? Going with your gut feeling? Your discernment against people and their actions is mediocre at best – and let's not forget biased, but your instincts generally seem to steer you in the right direction. You've seen through all the bullshit and the worst parts of me and you haven't thrown in the towel yet; Bon - give me another shot to show you more of the good."

The twisting in his chest wouldn't waver through his entire plea and Kai was starting to be concerned that this constant ache was never going to stop and let him breathe normally again, Bonnie's presence seeming to stir things around and kick it up a notch to just under suffocating. What made the pressure worse was the icy chill being wafted straight for him along with Bonnie's absence of worry or interest in him altogether. Waiting a millennia for her response Kai was about to persuade her some more when Caroline stepped up beside him enveloping Bonnie in a tight hold.

"I just wanted to thank you for today, for the last few days – for coming back; I can't tell you how much it means to me."

"Thanks Care," Bonnie murmured locking her arms around her waist.

"Listen, I'm kind of drained in the entertainment department after the long day, would you be upset if I wanted to be alone tonight?"

"Really?" Bonnie questioned pulling back with eyebrows down, "Are you sure? I don't think you should be by yourself."

"I'll be fine, Bonnie," Caroline reassured leaning back in for a quick hug, "I just had to get through tonight."

"Well there are still a couple of hours left."

"I think I'll manage; you can call me bright and early for breakfast, sound good?"

Kai looked over Caroline seeming pretty composed all things considered and back to Bonnie's anxious expression, wondering what was causing this reaction from her. Squinting and giving a skeptical once over Caroline snorted and took that as an answer; turning and holding Kai's forearm thanking him for coming before disappearing out the door. Looking back to Bonnie he took note of her eyes not leaving the front door for at least a minute before shifting left and becoming even more troubled.

"I think something's wrong," Elena vocalized suddenly beside him.

"I do too, something doesn't feel right."

"I've been feeling it all day, and then the way Caroline said she was just focused on today… we have to go find her."

"We all drove here together from the church."

"It's not far from here, and I drove Sheila's car over," Kai offered.

"Okay both of you wait here and I'm going to run over and be back as quick as I can," Elena rushed out and darted out the door.

"Are you okay?" Kai questioned looking over Bonnie's fragile appearance, her arms over her stomach with restless movements and she shook her head staring out at the crowd behind him. Taking a step closer she copied his movements taking one back and still had the courtesy to clear the anxious expression replacing it with a menacing one.

"I'm great."

"Bon, talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything… I don't know; why you look so worried, what you've been doing while I was going through a crazy acid trip withdrawal, what happened with my dad, why you're being so distant with me right now – take your pick."

"None of the above," Bonnie answered sharply and put her drink down storming around him and out the door with him close behind.

"You should know by now it's not that easy to get rid of me."

"Then I'll just stick to ignoring you."

"That's even more taxing," Kai chuckled walking to her front and looking over her stance, "are you cold?"

Bonnie turned her head to the street and gripped her forearms tighter when a breeze picked up and blew her curls against her face. Smirking Kai shrugged out of his jacket and swung it around her shoulders, his grin spreading wide knowing Bonnie was struggling between taking it off to spite him and sliding her arms through the sleeves to wrap it around her. After a moment of hesitation Bonnie met him halfway accepting the coat with a grimace and leaving her arms out of the sleeves pulling the front closed. They waited for a few minutes in silence, Kai examining her every expression and coming up with a variety of things he could say like some super paranoid and crazed fan until Elena screeched up beside them frantically motioning for them to hop in. The ride to the house could have been deemed record-breaking if anyone had timed it, curious to see if they had succeeded in beating Caroline home and followed Bonnie as her and Elena barged in without knocking.

-x—x—x-

"I told you guys I'm fine," Caroline said over her shoulder tidying up the living room with her back to them.

"We don't believe you," Elena responded making it in first with Bonnie on her heels.

"All day I've had this gnawing in the pit of my stomach, and I can't shake it. I've tried to rationalize that it's the day and that everything is happening so quickly but, I _know_ it's something else."

"That witchy intuition," Kai teased from behind her leaning against the doorframe.

"I started thinking," Elena began walking into the middle of the room, "about how adamant you were on getting through today, and packing everything in so tight like you only had a limited amount of time. I wondered what was crucial enough that you couldn't hold off and take care of the rest of this tomorrow and then it hit me; you don't plan on going through any more of this after tonight."

"Caroline… no," Bonnie let out in a shaky breath seeing her momentarily pause being called out on the truth before resuming to leisurely organizing.

"I thought if I put every excruciating funeral task into one day and kept myself grounded through the tornado that I could pick myself back up and endure it like I always do, but then I talked to Damon and he made me realize that this was going to be the _easy_ part."

"Why are you listening to _Damon?_ " Elena scoffed, "on this of all things."

"What did he say?" Bonnie asked as she started to fold stray bits of clothes trying and succeeding at keeping a calm levelheadedness, hoping if she could break through that wall maybe Caroline would come to her senses before she made a rash commitment.

"He told me that it's only going to get worse and _I can't do worse._ Once the shock wears off, and everyone goes back to the next catastrophe of the season, and it's just me… in nothing but the quiet…" Caroline's chin trembled showing her first sign all day of the storm within her and stared down all of them, "I have to do this."

" _No_ , you don't, because we are always going to be here. I'm home now and I can help you get through this – me and Elena – _please,_ just think about how deadly this could end. Do you remember Elena with no humanity? When she attacked me at Prom and I almost _killed her?_ Or when she tried to kill you? And manipulate Damon and Stefan while feeding on everyone in town. The three of us have been friends our entire lives and we _both_ reached our limit in that short span of time."

"Just because that is how Elena reacted does not mean it will be the same for me," Caroline stressed looking between them landing on Elena, "when it comes to being a vampire, you and I handle it in separate ways."

"That doesn't matter; you're talking about flipping the humanity switch, the equivalent to your self-control, voice of reason, and compassion all being shipped off-"

"And replaced with a numbing void in the center of your chest that is incapable of feeling or caring," Elena finished.

"Hm, that sounds familiar," Kai said quietly, the deep reverberations going down Bonnie's spine to her tingling toes having momentarily forgotten he was in the room too, "I'm almost missing those simpler days."

"See? Even Mr. Non-humanity himself agrees this is the right call."

" _Former_ Mr. Non-humanity," he rectified and Bonnie was taken aback turning to decipher his facial expression and declaration, Kai looking at her a moment longer before shifting to Caroline, "and I wasn't agreeing, just reminiscing."

"Care don't pay any attention to him," Bonnie said with a swipe of her hand out in the air towards him like she was telling him to _shoo_ , "and listen to the people who love you; you're stronger than this."

"Yeah well I'm not feeling too indestructible right now," Caroline uttered and kept her eyes wide not blinking, a tell of hers that she's trying not to cry, "This isn't going to be forever, just long enough for the heartache and suffering to be gone."

"It'll never be gone, it'll come back and hit you twice as hard," Elena reasoned, "You saw what I went through during _and_ afterwards."

"Yeah, _I did,_ " Caroline snapped slamming a few stray dishes down on a small table near the stairs, "I saw that you couldn't take the agony of living in a world without your brother so you turned it off. So has Stefan, Damon, Klaus, Katherine, and every other vampire that's gone through a traumatic event and doesn't want to feel the pain heightened and amplified three times more powerful. What makes you think you're the only one who gets to break free and leave the misery behind; forget the torment and start fresh?"

"Care," Bonnie said soothingly crossing the few feet to stand in front of her and grabbing hold of both of her hands through Kai's coat as they hung loosely in between them "just give me more time and I can figure something out. I'll find a better way, I promise, one that doesn't involve me losing my best friend in the process. Because that is what will happen, everything that makes you _who you are_ will disappear leaving someone unrecognizable in your place and I've done that once already."

"And you're _not_ going to want to turn it back on," Elena spoke in the same soft voice moving next to them, "It's not as easy as turning on and off a light switch in your head; it's more like a sophisticated bomb where trying to tamper with it and bring yourself back results in hasty and severe consequences."

"Cue Stefan; the most kind-hearted and selfless man you'll come across, whose alter ego just so happens to turn him into a Ripper when he's feeling down and humanity-less. The same guy who was snacking on wildlife when we first discovered what he is was also slaughtering villages and racking up bodies by the hundreds. If you don't want to listen to me who has never personally gone through the experience, take the word of every other vampire who has."

"Those vampires didn't just lose the only family they had left," Caroline let out quietly and her breath hitched; looking between Bonnie and Elena as her eyes filled with tears and sobbed, _"my mom is dead."_

Water pooled in Bonnie's eyes instantaneously as her body physically ached from chest pains throughout the day over trying not to break down in front of her. Sniveling, Caroline leaned her head in between theirs and both girls surrounded half of her in a group hug feeling the impact of everything's that happened the moment they felt that loving embrace. They stayed there for a minute or two, all sniffling and whispering words of reassurance to each other.

"I can't take it – I can't…"

"Everyone in this room has lost at least one parent; we can help Care, let us try." Bonnie pleaded while Elena took on more of a tough love approach.

"Think this through; you don't deserve to go through all of this but Bonnie's right, you're not alone. I know you think you know what you'd be getting yourself into, but you don't – I'm not going to let you do this."

Bonnie kept her chin against Caroline's shoulder waiting for her response, her sobs turning into short puffs of air before she felt a shift and heard a loud _crack_ beside her; gasping and being yanked backwards. Spinning into Kai's frantic stare darting between her eyes he ran his hands around Bonnie's neck and looked over the rest of her checking for damage and laughed out a noise of relief, turning his back to her and she realized a moment later he was now standing in between them.

"Whew, you really know how to get a guy's heart racing," Kai laughed and Bonnie tried looking around him only to be impeded by a tree trunk of an arm that she couldn't budge, "it's cool, you can go - we won't stop you."

"Yes we will! _Kai!_ " she implored sensing the tears threatening to fall knowing Caroline had made up her mind and was willing to do whatever was necessary to make it happen; the backlash because of it already beginning. Struggling Bonnie tried moving around Kai's left side and he let her stand a step closer so she could see Caroline but still kept her fully shielded.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Caroline said evenly and ran to grab her jacket and shoot out the door in a flash; the tears blurring her vision and pushing weakly against Kai's back trying not to choke on her words.

"I have to find her; I need to stop her before it's too late."

"It's too late," Kai turned murmuring softly and sighed when his eyes raked her face; leaning in to run his hand around her back but she stepped out of it not wanting to be comforted by him or crumble into a mess on the living room carpet as she was already on the brink. "Come here."

Shaking her head a fraction Bonnie's line of view shifted away landing directly on Elena sprawled out across the floor causing a whimper to escape from her throat. Stretching his arm out to grab the side of her neck Bonnie was pulled into him flush against Kai's recently developed burly exterior as his biceps caged around her shoulders holding her in place. Bonnie felt her resolution fading letting out harsh breaths as her body tensed into one wound knot, generally what happens before the flood crashes through the dam of her self-control. Knowing she was losing the battle her hands involuntarily scratched their way up the back of his shirt gripping the fabric and squeezing him tighter as her legs began to wobble from nerves. Kai ran his fingers down her back over his heavy coat in consolation and the kind gesture after the harrowing past few days was too much to bear; the sob escaping her triggering the tears to start pouring down.

There has only been one other time they've both ended up entwined in one another; the night at the party also revolving around Bonnie grasping to hold onto her stability, and both times the staggering change of behavior left her just as thunderstruck as the previous deed in itself. There was something about the way that Kai hugged her that made Bonnie feel… safe; like somehow he could protect her from the dangers of her life that she's learned to accept is a necessary evil when living in a world with the supernatural. At the party the reasoning behind it was to stop her apparent panic attack and knew he was focused on calming her down to get her clearheaded and lucid again, but this time there was no threat against her and she wasn't on the verge hysteria, Bonnie just felt full of despair. The physical transformation also supported her statement as she could feel Kai's built arms enfolding her and the well-defined muscles against her stomach and up his back.

Although the most astounding distinction between the two by far was the way Kai was reacting to her. Through the remainder of the day Bonnie had seen maybe one smirk cross his unfamiliar brooding features, and for the first time outside of her _in-depth_ look into his memories she witnessed an unmistakable flare of fright burning into her eyes when he yanked her away from Caroline and looked her over. Even now with her face pressed into his neck momentarily blinded Bonnie could still feel her limbs relaxing into his gentle touches and sensed a difference in him, something in the way he was acting extremely foreign and out of character. The gasps of air fighting to break through the tears eventually subsided until every part of her was drained replaced with an emptiness and layer of exhaustion.

"Do you want to go home?" Bonnie heard through the vibrations against his neck and nodded wearily grumbling.

"But Elena..."

Kai's body shifted – probably looking over her shoulder at her friend, and guided her over to a chair having her sit before scooping Elena off the ground and laying her across the couch. Crouching in front of Bonnie he smiled out of the corner of his mouth and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs fixing the disaster she must look like and tugged his coat more firmly around her.

"Caroline, are you home?" Stefan's voice sounded from down the hall and Kai stood in front of Bonnie as Stefan came in behind the chair, "what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, slight issue," Kai said portraying a small amount using his thumb and index and stepped out of the way motioning to the couch and Stefan rushed around them.

"What happened?"

"Apparently Caroline wasn't lying when she said she wanted to be alone tonight."

"She wants to shut off her humanity," Bonnie let out in a monotone, "Elena said she wouldn't let her so she snapped her neck and ran."

"What? Where did she go?" he asked looking between them and both shrugged, "how long ago?"

"Ten minutes, maybe," Kai guessed.

Stefan stood and called her cell as it went straight to voicemail followed by Jeremy and filled him in on what was happening. "Okay Jeremy's on his way to be here when Elena wakes up, I'm going to go out and try and find her."

"I should stay here too," Bonnie suggested, "or go with you and try to reason with her; I can do a locator spell."

"That didn't work too well the first time Bon, and unlike Elena you won't wake up from a severed spinal cord; I'll do the spell."

"Drop her off and meet me back at Mystic Grill in twenty," Stefan said heading for the door and Kai nodded, kneeling back in front of Bonnie to help her up and leading her outside and into the passenger's seat.

"It doesn't feel right just leaving her here," Bonnie stated staring at the front door as Kai reversed out of the driveway.

"She'll be fine; Gilbert Grape will probably get here while she's still out. I'm more concerned about you."

"Why?" Kai cocked the top of his head towards her giving her a pointed stare and looked back at the road. "I'll be fine once I figure out what Caroline's doing."

"You said everyone else has done this before, right? And they're all here chock full of those troubling emotions so it'll most likely just be a phase."

"Yeah, and then Stefan turned into a Ripper, Elena turned into someone I didn't even know, Damon... well Damon acts more or less the same but at least you can tell he feels remorse for the stupid things he does. Caroline has always been neurotically in control since we were kids, and doing this will turn that part of her off to do whatever she wants."

"Sounds nice," Kai mused trying to lighten the mood and she glared at him, "I'm sure she's going to be alright, Bon."

"I'm not," she admitted as apprehension coursed throughout her veins and curled her legs under the jacket up on the seat, staying that way until they pulled into the driveway. Walking through the front door Bonnie flipped on the lights and looked around at the small but familiar surroundings and the knot in her stomach untwisted fractionally, circling the area impressed. "Did you clean?"

"You bet I did," Kai laughed running his hand through his hair ruffling it, "it got a little… messy, the last few days. Let me just say _everything_ is so much simpler with magic, one swipe of the hand and half of the room is done; it's the most phenomenal thing. But I have to drive back to the Grill so I'll – well, uh I mean, do you want to be alone tonight?"

Bonnie sat on the couch and looked left at Kai hovering between the room and the front door fiddling with the keys. She felt her expression change, knowing this is the first time Kai has looked bordering on nervous, and asked if he could come back over; coming from the guy who essentially moved himself in within the first night. Feeling so pent up on indignation and wrapped up in her own concerns over the last few days it never crossed Bonnie's mind that Kai could have been going through something himself; her old initial reaction to think the worst of him winning over when her pride and insecurities were put on display. Kai had undoubtedly undergone something strange, and that on top of her overwrought mind over Caroline had her heart racing at the thought of being by herself.

"No."

A grin broke across Kai's face and she unconsciously mustered up one too seeing the happy-go-lucky sociopath she's come to know better than she would have ever anticipated. Promising a speedy return Kai turned on his heels and was out the door, leaving Bonnie in an empty house, by herself, to reflect on the day. Turning on the TV for noise and hopefully a distraction, she pulled Kai's coat tighter and threw her legs up on the other side of the couch, wrapping her arms around her stomach and curling into a ball as she flipped through the stations while she waits.


	15. Chapter 15

It had only been an hour before Kai walked back through the front door and looked into the room landing on Bonnie's comfy curled up position that she didn't bother moving from, even to turn off the light after he had left. Waves of exhaustion were hitting her every so often but her anxious thoughts and adrenaline knowing he was coming back hopefully with a lead on Caroline kept her heavy lids open the entire time. Kai hovered in the doorway looking over her, maybe thinking she was sleeping so she lifted her head and rasped out, " _did you find her?"_

"Yes and no," Kai responded sitting at the other end of the couch and pulled her legs straight over his, loosening the buckles on her heels, "technically yes I found her through a locator spell, but she was already an hour out driving North so I didn't physically see her. Stefan said he's going to try and track her down tonight and he'll call you if anything changes."

"Where is she going?" Bonnie wondered out loud.

"Probably just putting some distance between her and everyone; seclusion _is_ the first step," Kai said casually, pulling off her shoes and kicking off his own, "have you eaten anything today?"

Bonnie pursed her lips running through one of the longest and most jam-packed days in her life and could not place a single time she had eaten anything; her friends and their vampire diet not having to trouble themselves over things like giving your body energy and nutrients to survive. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind being too wrapped up in everything else that was going on, but now that Kai mentioned it her stomach started to grumble on command.

"I could eat," Bonnie shrugged and heard his soft laugh.

"What do you want; soup, sandwich, snack, dinner – it's a little after midnight if that sways your opinion."

"Mmm," she hummed debating, "snacks."

"I'll see what's in there, why don't you get changed and I'll meet you back here in two minutes."

Bonnie's grumble of protest had Kai snickering as he walked down the hall into the kitchen and she unwillingly pulled herself off the couch, down the hall, and into the room; all that effort and she still had to pick out clothes and change. Finding a pair of black shorts and a tie-dye tank top Bonnie shrugged Kai's coat off putting it on the dresser and dropped the dress letting it pool around her feet and throwing on the nightwear with her eyes half closed. Glancing back out the door on her left, and behind her to the bed – laziness won over logic and she crossed the three steps dragging back the covers and crawling underneath with her back against the headboard just as Kai strolled in holding a variety of options.

"Is this your way of getting me in bed?," he teased and walked up dropping the items at her feet and she looked over the chips, wheat thins, sleeve of Chips Ahoy, a package of Poptarts, a small bottle of juice, and a water all for the taking.

"What, no ice cream?"

"There isn't any, I checked," Kai laughed and walked around the other side of the bed stretching out diagonal the opposite way so his head was near her feet and the food starting in on the chips as she went for the Poptarts.

"Thanks," she said quietly and he bit the chip loudly with a smile as a response, looking over his appearance as he laid on his side facing her and it took her until now to realize he was wearing the same shirt as the night they played _Clue_ – the one she ended up tearing off of him – and noticed how much more he filled it out causing the fabric to bunch against his body. "How did you get so buff?"

Kai had just plopped another chip into his mouth and eyes darted up to hers without chewing, a brief pause before a small smile and slight eyebrow raise as he continued eating. "Why, see something you like?"

"Curiosity," Bonnie said with indifference, "and technically I haven't _seen_ anything."

The impromptu comment sent a scorch of mischief to Kai's features as his grin spread wider and he winked, "At least _not yet._ What you see before you is an unforeseen ramification from merging, but I still don't know if that's what happens to everybody who wins or just the ones that try doing a twin ceremony without their other half. Regardless, I ended up going through this whole metamorphosis from an impassive caterpillar to a severely perplexed butterfly; now equipped with a full stock of emotions and feelings to boot."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, I've heard many times that the two twins join together and become one mega-being but I didn't expect the whole emotional and physical toll to go with it. Now I guess I've picked up on some of Lucas' strongest traits; like compassion, and empathy," he said through a sour expression like the terms left a bad taste in his mouth, "my mind thought ' _why not'_ and put it to the test showing me all of my highlights in a new perspective, and it took a couple of days for it to wear off. I tried calling you once but I threw my phone during the chaos and cracked the screen hindering that plan. When it finally passed I got really sick and had to find Josette and convince her to give me her magic – which she did – and then I fixed my phone, called Caroline, got changed and went to find you."

"Jo gave you her magic?"

"Yeah, and she was awfully reluctant, but then I reminded her that the rest of the coven including herself will die with me and she changed her tune."

"So you're really the leader of the Gemini Coven now – good health and all?"

"It appears so."

"Hm," Bonnie hummed crossing her legs and looking down at him pondering what he was saying and finding this new _"emotional rebirth"_ highly unlikely.

Kai wasn't an introverted or shy person that couldn't express what he felt – quite the opposite as a matter of fact, but he was deemed a sociopath years ago and has lived through a lifetime worth of experiences to back it up. With her own eyes she has seen the malevolence Kai is capable of, as well as a softer side that Bonnie still has trouble believing is the same person from time to time. Against her better sense she has come to tolerate this version of the guy she's spent all this time around with his mental-deficiency in experiencing anything in-depth, and because of it has been able to talk herself through this _somewhat-friends-with-benefits_ thing they've had going and convince herself she'll be able to walk away unscathed. A monkey wrench that Kai could somehow be sprouting real and authentic feelings seemed too implausible and unacceptable to Bonnie's willful mindset, deep down not wanting it to be true as a part of her was still pulling away from the dark temptation.

"What are you thinking?"

"You probably don't want to know," Bonnie laughed sleepily and reached for the water bottle taking a long sip, "wouldn't want to wound your ego."

"I'm sure my morale will be just fine," he retorted and she flopped her head to the left, then right in contemplation, "try me."

After another moment of thought she shrugged and went with being up front, "I don't believe you."

"With what?"

"That you've changed; the physical aspect sure that could happen to anyone, but rewiring your brain to make it so you're not a sociopath anymore? Ehh," Bonnie let out the noise through closed teeth in uncertainty.

"There _is_ a new me, Bon; I can feel it," Kai reassured and she gave another noncommittal gesture reaching for the wheat thins when he grabbed her hand with a bit of pressure, Bonnie's eyes darting up to his. "How am I supposed to convince you?"

"With more effort than _that_ ," she retaliated pulling her hand out of his grasp and snatching the box from in front of him, Kai blowing out a breath and making a fist resting his knuckles against the mattress.

"I can't stop thinking about you… about how I hurt you; it's annoying, really. I have this feeling like I'm going to be sick or pass out when I think about that day in '94, and no matter what I do I can't shake how badly I feel over it. And then there's what just happened with my dad, and –"Kai made a grimace staring down at the bed, "I have this twisting inside my chest like I can't breathe and the only way I can make it stop is to apologize and for you forgive me, but I know you don't which is funnily enough making it even worse. I don't know what's happening to me – but it's terrible, so I'm going to take that as being another angst-ridden member of society."

Kai's gaze flicked back up to hers watching his face as he said things that sounded abnormal through his voice and Bonnie sat there expressionless, her bewilderment on what to think leaving her blank on the surface. For the past four days Bonnie has gone on questioning what had gone on between them and how unattached he was to the point of believing he would leave without saying goodbye. Only to fall through a hidden booby-trap where a guy who looks kind of like Kai was going on about symptoms of remorse and shame that he shouldn't be able to experience. What's worse was the way he was looking at her, begging her to believe him through his eyes as hers stayed guarded; refusing.

"I don't know what's going on with you either."

"You can't even consider the fact that I could be right about this?" Kai questioned looking irritated that flared up worse when she made an incredulous face, "your friend just flipped off her humanity switch, why is it so far-fetched to think I could flip on mine?"

"Because she's a vampire, and that comes with the package."

"And I'm a witch who just fused into a new version of myself with the assistance of my _younger-but-same-age_ brother. Yeah, I'm special too."

"That's true."

"So is what I'm saying."

"Maybe."

"Bonnie _._ "

"Why does it matter what I think?"

" _Because it does,_ " Kai said gruffly pushing his arm out to sit up with one leg crossed and the other bent with his arm resting against it, "I want – I _need_ , you to believe me."

"Why?"

"I don't know," he let out and the look of disarray he had like he was trying to figure out long division had her smiling out of the corner of her mouth.

"Then it must not be that important," Bonnie said nonchalantly and he glowered at her briefly breathing in deep and looking off to the mirror on her right.

"It is."

Bonnie sighed and ran her hand through her hair scratching her scalp in frustration and plopping it back on her lap, "Kai I'm really tired."

Looking over her face she could tell he wanted to say more – his poker face seriously lacking all day – and licked his bottom lip shaking his head as he looked down. "Okay."

Sliding off the bed Kai looked away at nothing in particular and started undoing one button a time showing the flash of his chain underneath, getting three buttons down and giving Bonnie a peek at the definition in his chest as a flush of heat hit her.

"Actually, I kind of wanted the bed to myself tonight."

Kai's fingers stopped at the fourth button bringing his focus back on her, "you're kicking me out?"

"Well that's a ruthless way to put it, but… yeah. I'm not telling you to leave the house."

"Just your room," he summed up and she nodded, "why?"

"I guess I'm still bitter about the other day," Bonnie replied grabbing the pillow next to her and tossing it at him, "there are blankets-"

"In the closet, I know," Kai answered tersely looking at the ground standing in place a moment longer before heading for the door.

"Wait, Kai," she breathed and he hovered in the doorway, turning and leaning his left hand against the frame, "I uh, I just wanted to say I appreciate what you did earlier; doing the spell when I couldn't, and… what you did for me."

Kai's expression didn't change but the fire in his pupils seemed to simmer to a slow burn and he smiled out of the corner of his mouth drumming his fingers against the wood, "sweet dreams, Bon."

With Kai out of sight Bonnie pulled her knees up to her chest resting her chin on the comforter over them and fell into a whirlwind of contradictive thoughts draining every ounce that was left in her until the fatigue started to cloud her mind and drag her under.

-x—x—x-

Kai was the kind of person who appreciated his sleep, taking great joy in slipping away from his mundane life that revolved around a whole lot of nothing for almost two decades and always felt refreshed when he awoke. He feels justified in blaming Bonnie for the flip in his nighttime routine; both in giving him some of the best rest he's ever received, and the worst. First it was the nightmares throwing off his game, and now it's his incessant mind unwilling to back down or ease up. Since the merge Kai's only roughly 40% sure he's slept _at all_ – the vivid hallucinations and time lapses from reality the sole indicator – but he's gotten over the hump and back into tranquil waters. Yet by some cruel sense of humor here he is, getting recurring headaches as he swayed between watching TV and staring up at the ceiling relaying numerous blips of dialogue. The light had started to shine through the front windows and Kai groaned out a long noise of frustration throwing his arm over his eyes and turned his head away.

"Kai – hey," broke through his subconscious and felt nails against his forearm resting on his face hearing Bonnie speak softly, "are you sleeping?"

"No," reverberated deeply in his chest and rumbled out the word.

"Well, you can go in my room if you want," Bonnie replied and he lifted his arm seeing her fully dressed.

"Where are you going?"

"Can't sleep, went to make something to eat and realized there isn't anything. I have to go food shopping, is there anything in particular you want?"

"Mm," he hummed struggling to pay attention in this delirious state, one eventually coming to mind as he made a noise of hunger, "nachos."

"Easy enough," she laughed softly and Kai smiled hearing the sound.

"You can take my card, it's… somewhere. My pants? No, maybe in my coat."

"I have money – how do you?"

"Stumbled into it," Kai yawned and lifted his tired body into a sitting position running his hand over his face, resting his cheek against his palm as he looked over at her sideways. "I bet there's more on mine."

"I… bet you're right," she retorted with a hint of a smile, most likely wanting to sass him back.

"Well my pants are upstairs when I changed into this," he motioned to his comfort wear of gray sweats and a white cotton t-shirt, "so I'd check the coat first."

"I don't need it."

"Just take it I eat most of the food anyway."

Bonnie's pursed lips told him she was going to fight him on everything he says and pushed himself off the couch and down the hall, reaching in the hidden pocket and pulling out his wallet. Turning to Bonnie behind him with her purse over her shoulder he dropped his wallet in the opening and walked over to the bed spreading diagonal across it, not even hearing her walk out of the room as he faded away. What brought him back clear and conscious was one of the most excruciating pains like he had been stabbed in the chest, gasping out air as something was ripped out of his back and Kai rolled over seeing Olivia standing over him with a large metal skewer from the kitchen.

"Hey little sis," Kai smiled through a wheeze and was blown backwards off the bed into the wall, grabbing the side of his head and yelling out in his half-asleep and disoriented mindset. Grinding his teeth and trying to balance himself through the searing shocks he lifted his hand and waved it to the left sending Olivia out the door and into the bathroom.

"Damn it, Kai!"

Huffing out a sound as an attempted chuckle Kai dragged his body off the floor, looking down at the dark red spot in the center of his chest and strode across the room and out the door, leaning against the bathroom door frame staring down at her.

"Kai!" Bonnie's voice at the end of the hall to his right drew his attention away to the front door where she stood on the other side of, her forearms flat against the open entrance like an invisible wall was in her way. "I can't get in!"

A grunt forced its way out of his throat looking down to his sister's fist against his stomach, feeling the metal rod piercing his organs. Grabbing her hand he thrust her backwards and Olivia tripped back to the sink, Kai swinging the door shut and waving his hand over the doorknob momentarily hindering her attack. Leaning against the wall Kai closed his eyes and yanked out the piece of metal in one movement letting out a harsh noise and sticking the rod in his pocket. Kai held the open wound over his shirt and rolled his head against the wall towards Bonnie still trying to get in and lifted his head quickly getting hit with de ja vu of Josette fighting to get inside the place where someone was attacking him. Breathing in deep he heard the bathroom door snapping off its hinges and made his way to the front door, smiling as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Probably best you stay outside."

The loud crash of the wooden door hitting the ground spun Kai back around and threw up his palm stopping three flying objects coming at him, feeling his feet lift off the floor and tossed to the left into the living room.

"You've destroyed all the things I love, taken away everything from me; my childhood, my innocence, my _sanity_ ," she hissed twisting her wrist and he groaned holding his stomach feeling like a knife was doing the same movement, "you left me in a state of fear for my entire life, wondering when you were going to break free to finish your game of torture before you killed us. But then you had to give me one final heartbreak by taking my brother and leaving me here without him; you deserve to live in torment because of that."

"You wouldn't have survived that night," Kai stressed out between coughs and rubbed the side of his mouth seeing blood on his hand, "wouldn't you rather it be him than you?"

" _I can't live without him,_ " she grated out as tears fell down her face and flicked her wrist harder making Kai lose his breath like he got hit in the windpipe.

"Liv-" Bonnie began and her eyes darted to the door.

" _Don't_ ; you've been helping him this whole time – _you_ are the reason he was let out of the prison world in the first place. I know I can't do anything to you because of my dad, but don't tempt me."

The end of Olivia's comment stuck with Kai even as she kept up her agonizing turn of the blade until all he could taste was blood and roared out ' _alligatam'_ watching her hands clasp together, locking them in place. He had to take a moment to catch his breath heaving out huffs looking down at the floorboards and caught sight of his red-stained shirt in the process. Pressing his palm to the center of his chest he murmured ' _curare'_ letting out a frustrated sound of agony as the open wound from his back through the front struggled to close and heal itself. After a moment the tightness started to loosen and Kai inhaled deep for the first time since he was abruptly woken up.

"Oh Livvy poo, what's your plan? You can't kill me, and I'll heal against whatever you throw at me. I could have chosen you that night ya know, knocked out Lucas instead, make the odds weigh heavily in my favor. But I also thought about which of you had the courage and the gumption when you were four years old to elude and outlast me, and that was you. I figured between the two of you, you'd be able to adapt and integrate back into your life easier – after you enacted some moderately-justified vengeance against me, of course. I'm hoping that after the storm passes this animosity between us can be something in our past."

" _I hate you,_ " Olivia seethed, "the revulsion I feel towards you will never go away. You ruined my life."

"You ruined mine first," Kai laughed through the discomfort standing up, "Let's not forget which pair of flawed-twins set off the fuse to this whole thing. _Technically_ you weren't even supposed to be born, but you were thanks to mom and dad's paranoia over me. And then when you were at the end of your line and an hour away from death – I stepped in. I may have tried to take you both out of the equation when you were kids which put a kink in the rest of your time on Earth, but _I_ am the reasoning behind your existence."

A subtle shift from rage to exasperation crossed her features, opening her mouth wide at his bold statement and clenching it closed with slit eyes. "Should I be _grateful?_ That you were such a disgrace to the family that our parents had to keep having kids until _I_ arrived? That the thought of you one day leading our coven was so barbaric they went against the rules they were hung up on? You're depraved, and they always knew it."

"This isn't anything I haven't heard before," Kai quipped but the way the words were affecting him had a colossal dissimilarity, "although I'm more partial to taking the word of someone who was actually _there_ during said events, or, say – can remember the person they're talking about. I won't bore you with the details sis but I had help in the sociopathic department; mom and dad were afraid of me because I was different and they didn't think I'd be able to lead the coven with my imperfections, but they were wrong."

"Dad will find a way to stop you."

"He hasn't figured it out yet, but has given a valiant effort. I'm the all-powerful leader of the Gemini Coven now; he can't kill me."

Olivia looked over his self-assured exterior and trailed her eyes over to the front door and tilting her head, Kai following her line of view and having a clear eye-line of Bonnie staring back at her. Looking back to Olivia the corner of her lip curved and zoned in with a serious expression, the silence echoing before Bonnie's sharp cry pierced his ears and he looked over to her holding her temples and dropping to her knees. Without a conscious thought Kai threw out his hands and Olivia went crashing backwards through the banister and into the wall landing on the stairs. Crossing the room he barreled towards the steps, stopping at the door to check Bonnie's appearance and continued towering over Olivia's slumped body.

"Maybe we can't kill you, but there are ways to hurt you."

"Olivia," he sighed crouching in front of the stairs, "I'm sorry about Lucas-"

"Don't even say his name!" she snapped as water pooled in her eyes again.

"…and what I had to do," Kai continued, "but it was only because our father _put a hex_ _on me_ which made it impossible to merge with Josette. And the reason I was so set on that – aside from it being my rightful duty – was because he was going to kill me if I didn't, or manipulate one of you into doing it. Then there's always the option of throwing me back into another prison world, and the pros just outweighed the cons. If it's any consolation I went through this whole transmutation and now he's kind of… a part of me, so there's still a part of _him_ here."

" _Screw you;_ I don't want to think of any aspect of Luke being trapped in your warped mind. He's the only one of us that was truly _good_ in this family, and I know he's somewhere far away from here – from you."

"Maybe, but he left his feelings behind," Kai shrugged and felt his face go blank when Olivia's cold stare burned into his and leaned towards him.

"You're a monster with no soul; even my brother wouldn't be able to cure you of that illness. No matter what it takes, I'm going to make sure you suffer."

Olivia shoved Kai backwards with her locked hands and he had to catch himself behind him to keep from falling over and stood stepping around him and held her hands out, waiting. Looking over his shoulder to Bonnie four feet away he turned his head back and stood slowly; at the home stretch of getting the whole way through while keeping a calm levelheadedness, but the underlying threat sent a flurry through Kai's mind scattering his self-control as a dark fog clouded over.

"I know what you're thinking, and _don't_ ; it won't end well for you," Kai murmured in a low undertone and unlocked her hands, watching her as she went to the door and took down the barrier before storming outside. The moment Olivia was out of his sight Bonnie was directly where she was just standing, reaching out for his shirt and stopping an inch away unsure of what to do as he smiled. "It's worse than it looks."

"It looks pretty bad," she stated looking at the two big stains in the center of his chest and down to the left.

Placing his left hand over the wound near the bottom of his shirt he breathed in slow preparing himself and uttering ' _curare'_ through clenched teeth, unsuccessful in not letting out a distressed sound and growled deep in his chest until it subsided. Lifting the bottom of his shirt to see a now unmarked injury Kai smiled lazily and looked back up to Bonnie.

"Good as new." The grin threatened to cross Bonnie's lips staring up at him until her vision trailed back down to his shirt and looked like she was going to be sick. Snorting Kai looked at the top of the stairs, chanting ' _veni ad me'_ and catching his backpack as it came floating down the stairs. Uttering ' _reficere'_ the banister reconstructed itself like he had done with everything else in the house from the few nights of him destroying the place and looked back to her. "Give me a minute."

Walking around her and down the hall Kai turned right into the bathroom – where the door lay on the ground – and jumped in the shower for no longer than that length of time, rinsing the blood away from his chest and back and dressed in the same sweats and an identical white t-shirt. Reaching into his pocket he still had the bloody skewer and rinsed it with soap and water before sticking it back in his pocket. Finding Bonnie in the kitchen he leaned against the counter as she zoomed around putting the food away and felt his grin spread when she slid a bag of chips and jars of cheese, salsa, and sour cream across the marble to him. Forgetting that he had even mentioned he wanted these he walked with a pep in his step grabbing plates and going to work making two delectable dishes and threw them in the microwave, feeling her eyes on him the entire time and waited until both plates were complete before turning to her with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Bonnie questioned taken off-guard.

"Something on your mind?"

"Well I just walked into - or… was trapped out of, the middle of a battle between you and Liv; there's a lot on my mind right now."

"Understandable," Kai nodded playing through the event that was no longer than fifteen minutes but felt like hours, especially since it started while he was still unconscious. He handed off her plate and followed her to the small table, hearing the jabs coming left and right and paused on one moment in particular. "Which reminds me, what did Olivia mean when she said she couldn't do anything to you because of my dad?"

Bonnie's face flushed with heat as she sat and stared at her plate for a moment before lifting her gaze to his standing beside her, "yeah, that's kind of been what I've wanted to talk to you about. I was going to when I woke you up earlier but you looked so tired, and now you were just stabbed a few times and underwent a verbal assault so I don't know if it's the best time to pile on more."

"No time like the present, what is it?"

Biting the inside of her cheek Bonnie scooped up a chip and motioned for him to sit which he reluctantly did feeling his leg start to shake as soon as he was immobile. Olivia went as far as stating out loud for the both of them to hear that she would hurt Bonnie to get to him, but that she couldn't because of their father. A string of possible reasons flowed through his mind since then and each was coming up more radical than the last. Brushing her hands of remnants Kai looked up into her eyes and she blew out a breath saying the words with it.

"Your dad knew you had a plan to go after Liv and Luke and that there was a chance you could win, and needed something that would ensure he would survive too if you were in power," Bonnie finished the rushed out sentence and looked over his face, "he… we're – he linked his life to mine."

"What?" he said after a beat of silence, his face expressionless.

"I guess I was his best bet," she shrugged pushing around the chips, "seeing if he dies – I die. I told him it might not matter anyway."

"Why?"

"Because… you've thought about nothing but winning the merge and exacting revenge on your dad for years," Bonnie responded in a tone that made it sound like he was slow for not knowing the answer, which just provoked him more.

"Really Bon, you think it wouldn't make a difference to me if I knew hurting him meant you'd endure the same fate?" Kai pushed the chair backwards roughly seeing her dumbfounded expression and paced around the kitchen, his thoughts bouncing off of Bonnie's ignorance and the surprise his old coven leader left for him; one of the issues he could at least settle right now. "You're ridiculous."

" _What?_ "

" _You_ – _frustrate – me,"_ Kai annunciated looking at her from across the room making his way back one step at a time, "because I know you're well aware that it _does_ matter to me, which is why you didn't tell me yesterday."

"I knew you'd be furious, and I didn't want to hear it," Bonnie corrected and he had to remind himself to breathe so he didn't give himself a stroke.

"That's bullshit."

"Why are you mad at _me?_ I'm the one who was kidnapped and forced into it!" Pushing her chair back Bonnie grumbled a stream of incoherent words, Kai already across the room leaning against the doorframe knowing she was going to try and leave.

"Do you really want me to follow you around the house?"

"I don't feel like talking, I told you what I had to say."

"Good then you can listen; I'm not mad at you because of what my father _did to you ,_ how would that make sense? I'm _irritated_ with you because you keep denying what's in front of you – what I have told you more than once. I like you, I like being around you, I would be extremely disappointed if anything were you happen to you. Even my old man's aware of enough to know he can use it against me because I _can't_ do anything to him if his life is bound to yours. I don't know if you aren't getting it – maybe little Gilbert wasn't as forward with you, or if you just don't want to accept it, but I do care about you. And before you start denying it – stop – because Christmas came early and gave me every feeling in the book, heavy on the solicitude. And passion, since you know… anyways my point is even though I felt things before this ceremony happened, things are a lot more _amplified_ and overwhelming now. I can't – I don't know how to explain it; everything seems blurry but what I feel is real. I wouldn't hurt you, even if it meant I got to get rid of the old leader once and for all. You know that, right?"

Kai watched an array of expressions pass over Bonnie's face showing different emotions; confusion, denial, skepticism, and a brief flash of delight as he attempted to decipher and pick apart what she could be thinking based off of them. She swayed restlessly from one foot to the other and looked into his eyes, her resolve cracking and showing him a glimpse of vulnerability before she snapped out of it and took a step back crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"That's a bold statement coming from someone who shot me with an arrow."

"That was before I really knew you. Plus, you were about to keep me locked in prison for the rest of my life and I panicked. And let me remind you _every single time_ that you were the one who drew your sword first. You were afraid of me, I get it, but a lot has happened between us since then and I don't see you the same way. Am I still the scary stranger you were desperate to get away from?"

"No," Bonnie responded without hesitation.

"We're not the same people; you're still as stubborn and ethical as ever but I can see the changes too, so can your friends. I know you have this thing you love to do where you don't believe anything I say – in spite, or just to piss me off… who can say for sure – but even you can admit that there's something more going on between us, and I want to see what it is. But for that to happen you need to get past your judgy-ness you have stored away just for me, and take my word on at least _some_ of the obvious things; like I don't want you to get hurt in general so I'm not going to be the one causing it."

" _Okay_ , jeez," Bonnie huffed looking disheveled like a gust of wind threw her balance from the force of his words, looking around the room and back to him with a smirk starting to break, "you're so emotional."

Kai's laugh erupted out of him and he could feel it deep in his stomach, the irony almost too much to bear. Bonnie's grin split across her face as she followed in his fit of laughter and remembered it was moments like this, where she never failed to keep him on his toes that he first found so intriguing. A loud chiming rang from Bonnie's bedroom and Kai turned to look down the hall and back at her.

"Is that your phone?"

"No."

"Hm," Kai murmured heading for the room hearing the ring start up again in his coat pocket and fished it out, "hello?"

"Hey, it's Ashley."

"Oh, hey Ash," Kai smiled as Bonnie came into view in the doorway and walked past him over to the bed, "did you hear the good news?"

"I did, that's actually why I'm calling; I think you've forgotten about a very special occasion for the new leader of the Gemini Coven," she commented and Kai had to think back over what he's learned. "The mandatory ceremony for you?"

"Oh, shit," he said recalling the whole robes and circle chanting part of being in a coven, "can you take care of that for me?"

"No _,_ " she laughed, "that's why it's _mandatory_ for you to be here."

"I have to go _there?_ " Kai groaned, "But I'm the leader, can't you come here?"

"There's too many of us, and it's generally supposed to take place where the last leader resided in, or where you currently do."

"Yeah, that's not happening," he said with an edge thinking of taking one step into that house again, "and I don't really have my own place – so to speak."

"Well, you can have it at my house if you want, you spent more time here than there anyway."

"That's true, but – ugh. When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

"Are you kidding?" Kai asked chuckling.

"No, when a new coven leader is brought into power they have-"

"Seven days, I know."

"And tomorrow is day six, and then the next day's Monday and people have to work so it's really the only day it can happen. Oh and by the way I had to use magic to figure out your phone number because nobody including _Josette_ would give it to me; care to explain how she's alive?"

"Your inside information may have helped save the both of us; can't say the same for Lucas, but I'll tell you more about it tomorrow."

"Okay, it's during sundown so be on time," she stated and he grumbled in response, "Bye, see you tomorrow."

Pulling the phone from his ear he ran his hand over the side of his face and let out a miserable noise, Bonnie's light laughter bringing his line of view over to her.

"Heading back to Portland?"

"Just for the day, but I have to do this ceremony to solidify my position as the leader and it's so far, and I'm pretty sure everyone's gotten the memo." Kai crossed his legs still sitting against the dresser wondering how the coven is going to react to the new man in charge, an absolute contrast of his father. "Want to come?"

"To a special sacred ceremony between the members of the Gemini Coven? Not a chance," Bonnie snorted, "and I need to stay here in case I hear anything about Caroline, but thanks for the offer."

Kai shrugged and nodded as a response, knowing she wouldn't go and that he's not even allowed to bring anyone outside of the coven to their rituals but figured it was worth a shot. Remembering he had a plate of untouched food on the table he made a noise of starvation and headed out the door, grabbing both plates and sliding back in sitting opposite Bonnie on the bed.

"Okay, now let's brainstorm some ways to get you out of this soul-binding contract with the Devil."


	16. Chapter 16

Kai had spent the entire 8 hour flight to Oregon blissfully unconscious since he had to endure another sleepless night on the couch after hours of brainstorming possible ways to sever the bond between Bonnie and his father, and not coming up with anything solid. Nowadays it felt like he was taking two steps forward and getting hit with a ' _motus'_ blowing him fifty steps back, and his new flare ups of emotions were making the whole thing that much more challenging. He has made some serious headway over the months, 90% of the time being when they were in a compromising position which was perfectly okay with him but Kai liked to give a fraction of the credit to his compelling words of persuasion that were breaking through Bonnie's uncertainties and showing him a side of her he doubts others rarely get to see, even little Gilbert or the overdramatic vampire. Against all odds they've managed to become comfortable and intimate around each other and Kai felt like he was so close to demolishing that fortress keeping him out that every drawback was starting to take its toll on him.

Kai's bubble of thoughts on Bonnie brought him all the way from the airport back to Ashley's house, not giving himself any necessary time to stress over what he's walking into. Cutting the engine Kai got out of the car stretching his hands up high and took note of the mass of cars around him, followed by a few members of the coven scattered across the front yard. Being tucked away in a frozen time-zone for so many years you start to forget that the rest of the world is continuing to grow and age but moments like this brought him back with full clarity; catching glimpses of familiar faces thinking it's the same adult from when he was a kid, only to realize it is that person's son or daughter that was his age. Avoiding a lot of ogling stares Kai went straight for the open door and sauntered through, making his way around the well-known house with ease in search of Ashley and found her sister in the kitchen with her back facing him mixing up a drink with the shaker.

"Are you sure you're old enough to be drinking?" Kai asked stepping up to the island between them and she turned, seeing the look of astonishment cross her face.

"I just saw you the other day, and you looked exactly the same as when I was a kid – and now…"

"I needed an upgrade to go with the new title," he smirked and looked down, even his style changing from band tees and cargo pants to solid colors with layers and tight fitted jeans. "I think I'm going to have to see some ID."

" _Please_ Kai, I'm 23."

"You are? Well that's," Kai paused, "disturbing."

"What, that on paper I'm now _older_ than you?"

"That's part of it, yeah. Another is that I knew you when you were a baby up to a little five year old girl."

"All grown up now," Anna smiled and strained the liquid into a half glass sticking a lemon wedge on the side.

"What's your cocktail of choice?"

"A mad hatter; ¼ part vodka, peach schnapps, lemonade, and cola. The lemon's really just to tie it together; try it," she suggested sliding the drink across the counter and he took a sip humming at the smooth taste and looked over to her already pouring another.

"Did you learn how to make this just because of the name?" Kai wondered and saw her small smile hidden behind the glass before she took a sip, making him snicker, "that's why I wanted to try it."

"And what's your final analysis?" she quipped and he took another sip exaggerating his evaluation.

"A nice blend, smooth going down, a strong after kick, and with a name like that? I think you scored." Anna's grin split from ear to ear and it was contagious as Kai did the same and leaned against the counter towards her, "so between us how many members are going to try and kill me during this ceremony?"

"Well the only ones that seem really against you are the elders, and I _think_ you can take them."

"You never know, some of them are pretty spry. What about my dad's henchman, have you seen him yet?"

"Oh yeah," Anna said through a roll of her eyes, "he was one of the first to show up. I'm sure he's eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"I'll bet," he remarked gulping down half the drink in two sips thinking back to the man that his dad was always plotting Kai's demise with, being attached at the hip after his mom passed away.

"I haven't seen your dad though, or sisters, or… really anyone from the immediate family."

"Oh there's no way they'd come. A victory party for me? All of them being way over on the other side of the country is almost poetic."

"Yeah but it's kind of mandatory and they _are_ part of the Parker family."

"Eh, that term's used loosely. More like Parker bloodline, and I don't really care about the whole mandatory thing. Honestly I didn't even want to come but being the guest of honor and all, might as well make an appearance. I even managed to get here before sundown."

"I know, impressive. Ashley owes me ten bucks; she said you'd more than likely show up five minutes _after_ the ceremony was over."

"Ooh I don't know if I would have taken that bet, it does sound like something I would do."

"And yet, here you are," Anna motioned with her glass looking over him.

"Here I am."

"Well I'm happy you decided to come," she smiled and Kai lifted his glass to hers clinking them.

"Thanks Anna."

"It's Anna _Lynne_."

"Yeah I'm not calling you that," he snorted and finished the rest of his drink, "but kudos to making a mean mixed drink."

"Why not?"

"Because all you ever wanted to be called was Anna when you were a kid and wouldn't respond to anything else, I guess you got it stuck in my head."

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Kai," she said offhandedly pouring the rest of what was in the shaker into his empty glass, "a lot has changed since then."

"Don't I know it," Kai commented starting to skim down her body before stopping himself, "but you're still Ash's _little_ sister."

Anna made a daring move copying his posture and leaning her elbows against the counter bringing her face less than a foot from his. "That's true."

The wafting of confidence coming off of her was difficult to ignore in such close proximities, his vision trailing over her features and noticed her doing the same. Kai didn't even know what was going on right now, much less why he could sense this sudden tension between them that he needed to put out immediately before Ashley murdered him in the backyard for looking like he's hitting on her baby sister. Taking a long sip of his drink hoping the buzz he's starting to feel will help, Kai leaned his elbows off the counter replacing them with his palms and towered slightly over her.

"Where is that sister of yours hiding, anyway?"

"She's been everywhere; trying to be the best hostess she can be while I'm the _other_ version of keeping to myself and drinking hoping nobody corners me with small talk."

"You mean like I just did?"

"No, no," Anna corrected putting her hand out like she offended him, "I mean the people I don't want to talk to."

"Aah," Kai breathed out, "so everyone else?"

"Pretty much."

"Well hey stranger," Ashley's voice chimed and Kai looked over Anna's left shoulder to her strolling through the open entryway, "and I mean that in the physical appearance aspect. When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago, I needed to card your sister before I could find you."

"Don't remind me," she said shaking her head, "well everything is just about set up in the backyard so we're ready whenever you are."

"Great," Kai vocalized with fake-enthusiasm receiving two opposite reactions.

"Oh you'll be fine, it's not like there's a hidden ritual to send you to some alternate dimension."

"Because that would be crazy," he finished amused, appreciating Ash's light attitude and friendliness towards him like the way she used to be. Looking over her outfit his eyebrows rose at the long white robe and watched her hand one off to Anna and a black one to him, his grin widening at how fitting that was.

"You don't have much time so change into that and I'll meet you outside in a minute."

Turning on her heel she strode back out the same entryway and was out of sight, Kai scooping the drink off the counter and finishing it as he headed for the bathroom down the hall. Stripping out of his jeans, t-shirt, and jacket he slid the huge black robe over him like a hoodie pulling it down over his chest and threw the hood over his head, chuckling at his reflection and noticing his pendant fell down low underneath the fabric. Strolling out the door the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs turned his attention to the right as Anna appeared in the landing and spun around for show making the bottom of her white robe flare up like a dress. Giggling and making her way past him Kai followed into the backyard where 17 other people stood and inhaled a long breath. Over the years Kai's formed a close bond with anxiety and hasn't had too much experience when it came to nerves but within the last week they were slowly suffocating him from within, and this seemed to be the opportune moment to spike up again. Irate, confused, eager, and inscrutable faces all turned to look at him as he crossed the grass getting closer to the circle and stepped over the small candles stepping in the center.

Figures started to close in around him until it was a tight knit circle of white robes and they all clasped hands together. Kai kept his face composed, an easy task to achieve after years of practice and scanned through the sea of people landing on one of the faces he was looking for and checked over Ashley's shoulder outside of the circle to Anna's smile shining brightly. A glare in his peripheral brought him a few people over to a bulking man that Kai would be able to recognize even with a few decades in between; his appearance admirable as he's well into his sixties. Kai could feel the heat from the center of his chest burning his insides and was hit with an acute awareness; spinning in a full circle and staring everyone down seeking out his father's face. Glowering back at the _former_ second-in-command and his smug look Kai's hands stayed locked in fists at his sides hidden under the robes arms and grounded his footing in a defensive and prepared stance, keeping his eyes on him the entire time.

 _North, East, South, and West; we call ye forth, to this circle, blest!_

 _Earth and Air, Fire and Water; come and join your son and daughter_

 _Body, Mind, Spirit and Heart; make sacred this space, a world apart_

 _Great Spirit, Divine One, Creator of all; answer our most reverent call_

 _The Circle is cast, the light unbroken; so note it be… our magic spoken!_

The wind roared and blew a gust within the circle blowing Kai's robe around and noticed it was only happening to him before it faded out; the candles still being lit signifying the coven had successfully casted the circle by calling the elements. Kai could feel the energy buzzing within the circle that was containing him and looked over to Ashley holding out two taper candles and a small pocket knife for him to take. Knowing what he was supposed to do already he grabbed the items and stood in the center of the circle, first focusing on the one in his left hand; _his past self_. He thought about all of the things he loved and hated about himself, the traits he hopes to hold onto, and what should be cleansed out of his body. The candle ignited and the wax started to drip black down the sides as a coal-like mist swirled inside the candle until it was as dark as his robe; using it to light the other one and watching the flame flare up black and misting all the way down until the second candle was a dull gray. An eerie calm settled over Kai feeling the magic that flows within the circle traveling in and out of him like a static charge, fusing together the aspects of him and Luke – as well as Josette's magic – effortlessly, until they were all balanced as one.

 _King of Heaven, King of Hell, send your aid unto the spell_

 _Wand, and Pentacle, and Sword; Hearken ye unto my word_

 _Cords of Censer, Scourge and Knife; Waken all ye into this new life_

 _Powers of the witches Blade, come ye as the charge is made_

 _By all the might of Moon and Sun; as you do, it shall be done_

With the candle still lit in his right hand Kai could feel the electricity from everyone else's magic pushing into the circle to connect with his own and kneeled down, dropping the one in his left hand and grabbing the knife that was still tucked in his right palm and stabbing the dirt a few times to be able to stick the taper inside. Once it was sturdy he switched to a new blade and sliced his finger, hovering over the flame as a drop fell onto it and surged through the wax scorching the tips of the grass out to the edges as Kai felt the rush of his power go with it. Glancing up hearing people's trickling's of sounds he felt triumphant seeing everyone's disoriented state and knew he did the spell correctly transferring a part of his magic to the rest of the coven. The spell had taken a heaping of his energy, feeling drained and exhausted but the high-buzz of power flowing through him was giving him an adrenaline rush like no other as he popped back up on his feet.

"I hope you are all feeling as good as me right now, because _wow_." Kai joked, looking around the crowd and remembered they were short a friendly face. "So what are you doing way over there, can't join us for a little _magical gathering?"_

"No, I can't actually," Anna smiled and two others stepped out of the way so they could stand on either side of the circle. "I'm not _strictly speaking_ a member of the coven."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm part of the six families obviously so I get to be a part of the coven but I'm not one of the core 22 members. Your dad would always tell me once I hit eighteen and was eligible he would initiate me in, but there's only been two people that have passed away opening up a position and he filled them with someone else. But, now with everything that happened with you and your brother… there's an opening."

"You want me to formally initiate you into the Gemini Coven?" Kai questioned with authority and her eyes lit up in response. "Hm, my first official deed as leader… I don't know. I mean once you're in _its forever_ , that's a pretty big commitment."

"I can handle it."

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Definitely," Anna purred and his eyebrow rose with the curve of his lips.

"I assume you have all of the necessary items?"

"Yes!" she chirped and was out of sight, Kai turning to chat with Ashley for a couple minutes as people lingered until Anna ran back into sight.

Kai's gaze involuntarily ran over her appearance switching from a long draped robe to a low cut white summer dress with a white and yellow flower crown resting on top of her long curls. Back in 1994 Ashley was considered one of the "pretty" and "popular" girls in school – rightfully so, but Kai couldn't deny that Anna was giving her a serious run for her money. The two of them had grown up together in the same coven, being around each other all the time so they had formed more of a sibling bond by the time they reached high school. Neither had put much thought into testing out where things could go, but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case when it came to Anna and that made Kai wary.

"Okay I have the silver pentagram, incense, witch's oil, two pillar candles, and the outfit to portray rebirth; am I missing anything?"

"Sounds about right," Kai nodded not having a clue if that was all they needed, knowing he needed to catch up on the ways within the coven life since he's been out of the game for a while. "Ready?"

Skipping into the middle of the circle Anna put the candles down on either side of her feet and moved back slightly so they would be in between them as Kai took his spot. Next she placed the wooden bowl of witch's oil near his left foot and rested the incense against it, handing off the pentagram necklace as Kai threw down his hook and swung the chain over his head. With everything looking to be set he held out his hands for her to take and she slid hers over his intertwining their fingers.

"Ready."

"Focus on me." Rumblings of voices started up again beginning the chant for the spontaneous _Initiation Ceremony_ and Kai had to quickly skim through his years of picking apart every detail of the Parker Grimoire's, faintly recalling the questions and oath that needed to be made the first time someone from one of the six families became a member. Flames lit beside them followed by the smell of incense and Kai could feel the energy starting to buzz within the circle again. "AnnaLynne Marie Stone, you have been chosen to become a member of the Gemini Coven; are you willing to swear an oath to this coven to protect and serve, from now, until your last day on Earth?"

"I am."

"Then proceed."

"I, AnnaLynne Marie Stone, of my own free will and in the presence of the Gemini Coven, do hereby solemnly swear to abide by the rules set forth and will faithfully adhere to and honor those principles. I accept the coven into myself morally, intellectually, and socially; and endeavoring also to act towards others according to the same high-standard of conduct required by the Gemini leader himself."

"Do you dedicate yourself in service of the coven, willing to put the needs of the group over yourself and enacting whatever action is deemed fit?"

"Yes."

"Do you dedicate yourself to the leader of the coven; to respect and follow my orders and willing to lay down your life for mine?"

"Yes."

Kai smiled shaking his head slightly seeing the glimmer in her eyes and felt the pendant heating up against his chest through the fabric as well as the same drainage of power he just experienced giving some to the rest of the coven. The reason for their locked connection is to be able to draw in each other's energies and the symbol acts as a sway, taking it in and fusing it together until it becomes something else entirely. Noticing the necklace starting to lose its heat Kai loosened his grip and let go of her right hand, pulling off the chain and placing it over her head feeling her left hand grip his tightly in response.

"You good?"

" _I can feel it._ "

Checking down near his feet he saw the flames blazing high and the incense burning through rapidly, Kai crouching down with their left hands still clasped and dipping his index finger into the oil. Slowly standing back up he leaned in close and pushed Anna's hair off of her right shoulder, the open cleavage ironically helping him in this moment as he traced the Gemini symbol over her heart with the oil. Dragging his finger over the last line he felt a shock go through his left hand into hers making Anna gasp as the flames snuffed out beside them. Taking a quick winded breath from the unexpected jolt Kai looked over Anna's flushed face and bright eyes staring into his before everyone around them started to hoot and holler in celebration. Peering down to their fingers still entangled Kai could heard the coven start up again closing the circle to clear the sacred space and felt Ashley hip-check him breaking the connection.

"Well wasn't this an eventful day; I get a new Gemini leader _and_ a new member, and both people I can only tolerate in short amounts of time."

"You'll have a lot more chances if you pack up and ship East; have you thought about it at all?"

"She has," Anna answered.

"No, _she has_ ," Ashley corrected, "enough for the both of us apparently because her reasoning's were tricky to argue with. I just don't want to go through the process of packing up everything."

"You know this thing we're doing tonight – why I'm here – it's because we're _witches_ ," Kai whispered, "which is this cool title where you get to do stuff magically that mere mortals have to suffer through… such as moving household items."

"Okay, but then there's my job-"

"I'm sure they'll be able to move you over to another building," Anna chimed.

"And _you_ are going to school."

"It's only the beginning of my second year, I can see what's over there and transfer."

"You're still in school?"

"Yeah, I took a couple years off after I graduated."

"Interesting," Kai nodded, never giving much thought to going back to school – or really going to college for the first time - since he's been so focused on his family. "So now the moment we have all been waiting for ladies and gentlemen; the ritual of _cakes and ale!_ "

Sounds of satisfaction trickled through the circle as they started to part one at a time back to the house and he followed the girls inside, seeing a feast awaiting him along the dining room table. The point behind this part of the ceremony was to give people food and drinks for energy and protein after the toll that witchcraft can take but the backstory behind it didn't matter to Kai, only that it was very common amongst these occasions. Excusing himself from the commotion he needed to change back into his clothes before getting hit with heatstroke and found his clothes on a table outside of the bathroom, turning the knob to a locked door. Weaving his way back through the house Kai headed upstairs and turned right down the hall towards Ash's bedroom and checked around him for any witnesses; throwing off the robe and sliding on his jeans. Scooping his gray t-shirt off the ground he heard the creak of the top step and stood up turning left as Anna appeared, looking mortified.

" _Oh_ , I'm sorry – I was just going to come up and use the bathroom I thought you were in the downstairs one.

"It's alright," Kai chuckled putting his arms through the sleeves and pulling it over his head, "just good that you didn't show up fifteen seconds earlier."

"Hm, good thing," Anna agreed and continued on past him to the bathroom, throwing on his dark jean jacket and heading back downstairs coming into contact with a sea of people.

Most of them didn't try making small talk with him; a few wouldn't make eye contact with him altogether, but there were a few curious onlookers that seemed interested in him. The most impressionable was the younger generation of AnnaLynne's age, and evidently his based on his outer appearance but they are the only ones who weren't old or intuitive enough to pick up on Kai's antics back in the day. The only information they know about him is what they've heard from their parents and grandparents, which depending on who you're talking to could be a drastic contrast. The adults were his next option of choice as there are both negative _and_ positive effects for the majority of them growing up around Kai and the family, knowing not only his personality but the obvious explosive tension that's always been there between him and his father.

While the younger age group revolves around blissful ignorance, this one is more focused on skepticism. Stories must have been flowing over the past eighteen years over the type of person Kai was but these people knew _from their own personal experiences_ the kind of kid he was, that he had his flaws like any other, and was dealt a rotten hand in the spell casting-department. Finally there were the elders; the _hatred-and-fear-driven-breed_ that vowed their loyalty to the former leader many years ago and will go down fighting for those beliefs. Kai knew not to waste his time trying to convince them to be on his side because he knew they wouldn't go against _their_ leader and frankly he didn't really care.

"If it isn't little Malachai," an older voice grated behind him and Kai gritted his teeth feeling his nose flare before turning to face him.

"And if it isn't the former side kick."

"You don't write, don't call; how was it over there in Purgatory?"

"It had its upsides. But not being able to siphon your magic and kick your ass every week? That I missed."

"Oh you always did give it your very best, kid," he said amused, "but let's not forget who walked away unharmed in most of them."

"I'm a little older now if you're here to settle the score, even learned some new tricks."

"That's not why I'm here."

"Ah, then to be my dad's lackey again and spy on me for him," Kai nodded in understanding, "must be a tough gig; all of these years in the old man's shadow and now with a new leader in town – _poof_ – there goes your title. I mean I would be pretty insulted but, are you? That the kid you spent years harassing is now the person of authority you have to answer to? I mean _that_ – that has got to suck."

"Something tells me this job isn't going to be cut out for you for too long."

"I can see me making it at least as long as my endurance in solitary."

The ominous leer that over-casted his features send magic coursing through Kai's veins until his fingertips were tingling. Kai is self-assured enough to know that he is a highly intelligent individual who has survived against the odds his entire life by using his strongest traits of intuition and paranoia; his time spent away not lessoning either's heightened awareness. Another facet Kai doesn't mind bragging about is his ability to spot a liar and know when someone was bluffing, and his lips curved feeling the same sensation right now.

"Mr. Walsh," Anna greeted coming up behind him picking at a small plate of food and turned her attention on Kai, "you should come get something to eat before we run out."

"Thanks," he uttered but stayed locked in his position, refusing to be the first to back down.

"Enjoy the party kid," Walsh said with a smack on the shoulder before moving into the next room.

Kai kept his eyes on the door waiting for him to pop back in with another sly remark like usual, his fingers still prickly with magic begging to be let loose. The muscles in his shoulders started to unwind and exhaled slowly through his nose hoping the tension burned off of him with it. Remembering he wasn't alone Kai turned left to Anna watching him and he could have sworn he saw a flash of sympathy before her light expression was back in place.

"I figured you could use the excuse to be rescued."

"How considerate, I guess I owe you one now."

"Come on," she chuckled, "let's get you some food before it's gone."

Following Anna back through the stragglers of people he filled up a plate full with the variety that was displayed in front of him, heavy on the Buffalo wings. Devouring half of the plate within minutes Ashley made her way over and went about the rest of his meal in conversation with both sisters until his plate was empty and mouth was on fire.

"I can't even breathe those were so hot," Kai said sticking his tongue out to hit it with cold air, "I'll be right back I need to grab a drink."

It was something in the way people were responding to Kai as he walked past them; either with contempt, fear, or eagerness in their eyes yet not a single person has tried speaking to him. Granted he probably wasn't the most approachable person to walk up to during an occasion like this, looking like he doesn't want to be here and vibrating with supremacy that could seem intimidating to a lonely observer. Grabbing a can of soda from the fridge Kai weaved through the house calling everyone to gather in the dining room where most people were already and stood at the head of the table.

"Alright let's gather 'round the table, make yourselves comfortable – great. Okay, _hi_ ; most of you already know me and grew up with me back in the day and I'm happy to report that I am still the same person for the _most_ part. This whole merge thing kind of fused half of my brother's personality into mine – anyway, I'd also like to point out that the things your previous coven leader fed you during that time was through a biased perspective that only progressed with his hatred over time. Which brings me to you," Kai gestured to the kids who looked to be his age and landed and Anna, "the _teeny-bopper_ generation that was still in diapers when this whole mess spiraled out of control. I can't take back what the former leader and your parents have brainwashed you with about me from years of living in fear over what would happen if the monster was let out of its cage, but I'm not what my father portrays me to be. I didn't come back here to become leader so I could wreak havoc within the coven and destroy the very thing I've been fighting for; I want to change things."

"Like what?" a boy around Anna's age asked.

"You name it; the rules, the strictness, captivity, all of it. I can assure you that if you liked the way my father ran the show, you're going to detest mine." Rumblings of protest and praise started to flow throughout the room, intermingling with one another as questions started to conjure up.

"What kind of rules will be different?"

"When will this happen?"

"You can't just change the way things are!"

"What about the laws the leader has made?"

"Whatever laws my dad made along the way – are no more. I'll glaze over what they were and see if there's any of importance but I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say most if not all are coated in personal benefits for him. And funny thing about being the leader of this coven, changing things is _exactly_ why we continuously have a new person in power every couple of generations to bring things up to speed and trim the fat off of the useless information former informants have set forth. Oh, and this is happening right now," Kai smiled proudly with a grand gesture of his can of soda in the air quoting the ceremony chant, "' _as I do, it shall be done._ '"

Kai was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people that raised their glasses along with his and copied the words, clanking their glasses and throwing back their drinks in unison. Beside him Ashley held up her glass to his with a smile threatening to break free and he beamed back at her causing her to do the same.

"And what is your first adjustment, Gemini leader?" Ashley questioned.

"Why not just jump into the heart of it; my first order of business is demolishing the rule that states we are only allowed to do magic when we are all together as a coven, and instead have the alternative to be able to break into smaller circles. These circles can be as small as two or as big as twenty-two, but it will give you the freedom and accessibility you need to put your magic to the test and see what you are capable of. And that also means you don't have to run every little magical adventure by me first, as long as it's not something monumental like you accidentally started an Apocalypse then I will trust your judgment. "

"I love it."

"That's so cool!"

"We could have our own group!"

"The next order of business is this _1600s Salem witches_ lifestyle we have going on with the formal wear to these events and strict diets that I hope no one actually lives by. I can meet you halfway, throw on the toga robes and get weird during ceremonies but during meetings, or get-together's, or really any other example you can think of just wear whatever you want. And please, go out there and eat _everything_ ; try something new every day because it is the best part of living. This feast you see in front of you should be a common occurrence not the gift you receive by having to come and do the whole song and dance first."

Another round of chatter went throughout this room, this time even more positive and gung-ho than the last and Kai felt pretty good about his position but knew there was one more topic he wanted to throw out there that some members were not going to like.

"Was there anything else you wanted to invoke?" Ashley wondered with an upbeat and hopeful vibe that he hadn't seen on her since he's been back.

"There was one more thing, but I know I'm going to have some split opinions on this one." Murmurs started to get louder and he cut them off before he lost his nerve, "I want members to have the free will to leave the coven instead of forcing them to stay for life."

"What?"

"Are you crazy!"

"Can you really do that?"

"I want to leave!"

One comment blended into the next until Kai couldn't distinguish a single voice out of the white noise and roared, " _HEY._ Let's try that again with our inside voices."

"You've been leader for a few days Malachai," an older woman sneered to his left standing from her chair, "and you think you can just change a law that has been set in stone since the Gemini Coven was created; _the foundation?_ "

"I do, as a matter of fact; yes."

"Joshua will hear about this. He'll-"

"My dad has been hiding since I got back so I feel like he is going to be even _less_ inclined to square off against me now. But he is still a member of this coven, as are all of you, and I am thinking about _your_ future. We are made up of six families; Parker, Stone, Turner, Hayes, Cooper, and Walsh and that base factor I would not change. If there was the option to willingly leave the coven anywhere from either a few years of seeing how you like it or twenty five years when you're fed up with the routine, it would open up the positions to recruit other family members which would be keeping our coven fresh and active, and maybe not so painfully dull to attend."

"This is an outrage!"

"We can always put it to a vote," Kai suggested, "we're missing three key members but I have a strong inkling I know which way they would lean; so all in favor of keeping things the way they are." Every elder's in the room raised high which gave them a pretty close count being near the majority of the coven, "and opposed?"

"Right here," a middle-aged man sing-songed which had him laughing as he counted off the rest of the votes.

"Ladies and gentleman; the poll was tight but the winner is," he made a drum roll against the table and looked around at all the anxious and eager faces, "Me! Oh I did not expect this; I don't even have a speech prepared."

"Yes!"

"This is absurd!"

"You're breaking the rules!"

"I'm making my own rules," Kai grinned, "it's just something I've always seemed to do. It's – you'll get used to it."

"So if I wanted to get married, move away, start new…" an attractive woman in her early 30's vocalized.

"Then be my guest. But I better be an invited guest too, I like weddings," Kai joked with a smile and the woman's face brightened into a wide grin filled with elation. "And finally I will part with this one last word of advice that isn't an order but a friendly suggestion; get the hell out of Oregon. I can tell you from personal experience of having the run of my own prison world for eighteen years I traveled to every place you could imagine and there is _so much more_ than what this place has to offer. For the most part our coven is split in two locations; here and Virginia, but with this up to date version of circle magic you'll be able to go anywhere as long as you have another core member in your family with you. Listen, I know you all don't know me, and definitely don't trust me, but the system that we've been forced to live in and follow all of these years is as outdated as the Witch Trials and if being trapped showed me anything it's that change is a necessity to survival. So let's test the waters of this new way of life and see how we like it, sound fair?"

Enthusiastic and encouraging feedback was coming his way from both Anna and Ashley's generation and Kai inhaled a breath of fresh air feeling immensely better now than when he first arrived, even while he watched every elder storm out of the room. The chatter went on for another ten minutes and he glanced over at the clock reading 10:06PM and cursed out loud.

"I'm going to miss my flight," Kai huffed zooming across the room to where Anna and Ashley stood as Ash started cracking up.

"For someone who must have taken this trip back and forth so many times, you're terrible at keeping up with the schedule."

"I was in a world where _I_ was the pilot for the last decade and a half, there was no such thing as needing to stick to a time schedule."

"When's your flight?"

"10:40."

"You're screwed."

"If I miss that flight the next one isn't until some ridiculous hour. I got to run but it was nice seeing you both once again for this short window of time. You have my number now so put that thing to use," Kai said assertively and Ashley leaned in laughing to hug him, switching over to Anna before sprinting out the door and high-tailing it all the way to the airport.

By some luck of fate Kai had managed to board the plane within a minute or two tops of it taking off and slept uncomfortably and sporadically through the flight. By the time he was able to drive himself back to Sheila's house it was a bright and shiny day at 7AM and Kai wanted to die inside. Every inch of him begged for a bed and sleep and it seemed the closer it got the heavier his limbs became struggling to bring him to his destination. Unlocking the door and heading down the hallway Kai made it a step away from the bedroom door before he recalled that Bonnie's been keeping him in the doghouse on the couch, his achy limbs battling against the forgotten information. Taking the next step he hovered in front of the door, seeing Bonnie curled up around her pillow on the left side of the bed where she always slept and felt the other empty side of the mattress beckoning him with its promise of tranquility.

Kicking off his shoes Kai didn't have the time or effort to change out of his clothes, landing on top of the comforter with a heavy thud and leaned over onto Bonnie's pillow with his eyes closed dragging his heavy body closer. The waves of exhaustion were pushing him under too rapidly for him to get comfortable but Kai was still lucid long enough to feel Bonnie reach back to grab his hand and pull it over her chest and under her chin, the relaxed and natural gesture making him lean forward pressing his lips and cheek into the crook of Bonnie's neck before he passed out.


	17. Chapter 17

Bonnie couldn't tell if it was the sweltering heat or prickling against her neck that drew her out of the deep relaxation she was currently residing in but whatever the case, her limbs were starting to turn restless. Pulling her hand up to her face Bonnie's fingers wiggled to get free of its confinement and opened half an eye to Kai's thumb ring brushing against her lips and their hands intertwined. Bonnie hadn't even felt the mattress move, somehow it seeming strange that someone could crawl into bed with her and she could remain blissfully unaware – and worse, _cuddle up_ with them. Kai's bicep wrapped around her stomach had Bonnie crushed into his stomach but couldn't feel their usual _overly_ closeness, lifting her arm and checking behind her to him still fully clothed and on top of the covers. Bonnie wasn't sure when Kai could have come back, not getting home until 2 or 3AM herself after spending the entire day and night with everyone minus Stefan and Caroline. He had called early yesterday morning to reassure her he had found Caroline and that he was working on getting them both back home soon. The only downfall which Bonnie knew was inevitable was the humanity switch that had long been flipped in her wholesome-vampire mind. Since the night Care ran out Bonnie had imagined what kind of version of herself she would portray and struggled to come up with just one answer. Stefan and Elena had both surprised Bonnie in different ways when they went down this road; Stefan's empathy being the cause of his savagery and Elena's kindness turning her merciless. The reason behind Elena's breaking point was from not being able to bear the pain of losing her little brother – the only family she has left, and Caroline is suffering from the same heartbreak. Through every ruthless and repugnant encounter Bonnie watched the pieces of her friend drift away but was still able to see through to the core of her humanity even when it was in question whether there was any left. The only time things turned fatal was when someone would try to pull Elena from the murky shadows back into the light, and Bonnie was a bundle of nerves wondering how her other best friend will react to that defensive attack.

Kai's scruff along his jaw scratched at the back of her neck sending chills across Bonnie's skin and she debated if she should go back to sleep, curl into him, or run out of the vicinity as quickly as possible for minutes until she was gritting her teeth in frustration over her spirit of inquiry. Untangling their fingers Bonnie lazily rolled to face him and the movement caused Kai to stir, running his hand gently up and down her back and tilting his head down closer to hers. It still took her an extra beat every time she looked at him to get over the discombobulation of his new appearance, his face still the same but coated with recently developed features that kept managing to trip her up. Not only was the scruff and _manliness_ compared to his boyish looks a change of pace, but his whole body and personality seemed to have gotten an upgrade into the 21st century as well. The only predicament that has materialized from Kai's mishap is that Bonnie's thoughts and emotions have turned maddening; from the moment he stopped her outside of the church apologizing with regret reflected back in his eyes, to doing the absolute inconceivable and spilling his sentiments all over the kitchen floor like word-vomit. The most bone-chilling factor of it all; it seemed sincere. Not only genuine - but straightforward, and being belted out from some deep part of him that Bonnie hasn't seen before; not entirely certain Kai had that part of him up until recently.

Looking over Kai's dormant features Bonnie thought back to every emotion crossing his face when he was trying to convince her there was a new him in town _not_ just physically, and the compelling verbal persuasion to go with it. Confessions that Bonnie would never expect to hear were spilling out of his lips unfiltered and wide-open for her to tear down, the out of character trait of vulnerability tying it all together quite nicely. For the first time in his life she was almost certain Kai was experiencing authentic remorse for the cruelty he's enacted in the past, but the particular detail that it was directed at her was causing Bonnie to be hit with waves of nausea and being terror-stricken. And then there was the next day, coming at her when she was unprepared and off her game after Bonnie had just watched Liv toss him around the house like a ragdoll as Kai let her. Up until that point Bonnie had pictured the conversation of Kai discovering her and his father's lives being linked together resulting in outrage and confusion – which she had correctly distinguished, but could not have been farther off on the grounds behind it. It had already became exhausting fighting against Kai's tactics to break through her force-field from everything they went through together in the prison world and felt her defensives starting to ease up, this unpredicted circumstance crashing through her willpower like a wrecking ball.

 _'_ _I wouldn't hurt you… you know that, right?'_

The words trickled through Bonnie's every waking thought for days, her vindication to prove him wrong winning her over subconsciously as the voice in the back of her head kept bombarding her with moments that contradicts his statement. Kai _has_ hurt her, more than once and in varying degrees, but there was one way he's never been able to get to her through and she was adamant on her refusal to give him that power over her. Although Bonnie had to admit, the way he was being so open and honest was drawing her in quicker than she could push away from and the sense of serenity Kai was beginning to surround her in was becoming trickier to escape.

Running over his peaceful stance at rest Bonnie's eyes caught sight of the metal peeking out from his t-shirt and reached for it letting the Celtic Knot fall onto the palm of her hand. Spending the entire day wondering two contrasting thoughts of what Caroline was going through and what Kai was up to had drained away all of her vitality, jumping from one extreme to the other picturing Caroline snapping Stefan's neck and coming back with a vengeance to someone in Kai's coven killing him or trying to lock him in another prison. The anxiety swirling around was slightly at ease knowing one of her overdramatic conclusions was off course but the other was still entirely up for grabs. Bonnie couldn't help but let her mind wander thinking of what covens actually _did_ since her Bennet witch-history went as far back as Gram's filling her in once she made it to high school, but there were still so many questions she knew she'd never get answers to. Gram's must have been involved in more than her fair share of rituals and ceremonies if her aiding the assistance of Mr. Parker to lock Kai away was any indication, and she had to imagine when she was Bonnie's age she must have been part of the whole _chanting and white robes_ Pagan rituals. She hadn't asked Kai before what it really _was_ that a leader of a coven did but had assumed it couldn't have been too time-consuming if he was willing to take part in yesterday's event and was already back.

In the back of her mind Bonnie still questioned if and when Kai was going to move back to his childhood town and after the abrupt coven-duty departure she was just waiting for when Kai was going to break the news. She was still struggling to determine whether that translated into her being bothered that whatever's going on between them would be put to an end, or relieved that nothing would be able to progress any farther. Whatever the case may be, Bonnie felt an unwavering determination to not let herself fall any deeper through his charm and sexual inducements that she is convinced half the time are involuntary. What made this self-oath so difficult to follow was the display of man four inches from her face that won't seem to leave her zonked mind. The loud chiming of Bonnie's ringtone caused Kai to jump in his sleep and she hopped off the mattress making the few steps over to the dresser and read Stefan's name across the screen.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"We're on our way back; Caroline says she needs an entire wardrobe change if you're interested in joining. And she has a plan in mind for tonight but I'll let her explain it."

"Am I going to like this plan?"

"I'm going to say probably not, but we're all invited to it."

"As long as Care is coming back home then I'm up for whatever she has in mind."

"I'll drop her off at the house in about an hour."

"Sounds good, thanks."

Ending the call and seeing it was almost noon Bonnie put the phone back on the dresser and stared down leaning forward with her palms against the wood taking a moment to be grateful that Caroline was coming back home, and another to brainstorm a few ideas of what she could be planning and how badly it could end.

"You look worried," rasped deeply from behind her and Bonnie looked over her shoulder to Kai's half open lids, turning around fully and sitting back.

"That should be an expression you're used to seeing by now."

"Caroline's coming back?" he inquired and she nodded, "so what's the problem?"

"Well she doesn't have her humanity intact, for starters, which has caused me to play through every encounter I've come up against with those kinds of vampires. And Stefan said she has a plan for tonight which knowing Care that could be literally _anything._ I know exactly who Caroline is and I'm kind of freaking out thinking what this mirage of her will be."

"C'mere," Kai mumbled with his arm outstretched on the bed and eyes almost fully shut, Bonnie smiling out of the corner of her mouth at the act of comfort and leaned off the furniture taking a step forward before stopping short.

"I uh – I have to take a shower and get ready, Care should be here soon."

Turning back and rifling through the drawers Bonnie grabbed her undergarments, dark faded jeans, and a pale yellow blouse, along with a white coat with big lapels hanging down low out of the closet. Looking over to the bed Kai stared back at her through a slightly more conscious state with his eyebrows down a fraction, licking her lips to say something before freezing up and scooping her phone before heading out the door. There was still an hour to pass before Caroline was expected to show up so Bonnie spent a lengthy amount of time in the shower, happy to see that twenty-five minutes had passed and got dressed making her way to the kitchen after. Rummaging through the cabinets Bonnie settled on a bowl of Cheerios with a cut up banana and piece of toast, cleaning the dishes and pacing around for another ten minutes until there was a knock at the door.

"Hi," Bonnie beamed taking a step out of the house to hug her.

"Oh, hey," Caroline responded patting her awkwardly once on the shoulder and Bonnie leaned back.

"I'm happy to see you – and that you're okay."

"You just saw me the other day," she retorted, "and I've never been better. Come on get your shoes let's go."

Bonnie walked back down the hall biting the side of her cheek already noticing the differences and turned into the bedroom, noting Kai had flopped over onto his stomach with his head on her pillow now fully unconscious. Slipping on a pair of socks and her sneakers Bonnie grabbed her purse and keys on the way out and jumped into the driver's seat and headed for the mall. On the way there Caroline had filled her in on where she had been the last few days of taking a road trip along the coast up to New York where she met a few people who had all the necessities for what she was putting together.

"A rave?"

"That's such a tacky term, but it does sum up what I have in mind pretty perfectly. Try to imagine it; the music, lights, neon colors, outfits, and party-goers actually being happy instead of the drag and dread I've been surrounded by," she said with a roll of her eyes, "no offense. It's just been one thing after another with you and Damon dying, and Elena spiraling, and now my mom's dead too and I just need some _fun_ in my life; wouldn't you agree?"

"I…"

"Anyways, I've already recruited half of the cute boys at Whitmore to come and my connection from New York is setting up the warehouse off campus right now. So we have six hours to buy a new wardrobe and get a makeover for tonight and then we can let loose and have a good time."

"Really?" Bonnie wondered out loud, "You shut off your humanity and disappear for a few days, in the back of my mind thinking you could be going on some murder spree and you come back wanting to throw a rave?"

"A _warehouse party_ ," Caroline corrected, "and I'm not an idiot, I knew if bodies started piling up then the cops would notice and track it back to here; this isn't 1864. So I want to run a proposition by you, in return for my good behavior I want a full year where I don't have to feel an ounce of pain or remorse about anything. You're not going to use your witchy ways to find some loophole, or try and go with the old ' _I'm going to verbally trigger some buried emotion and snap your humanity back on_ ' rouse. And I'm definitely not going to be locked in some dungeon where the Salvatore's dry me out or torture me to feel. After the year is up I will willingly turn back on my emotions, the worst of the pain will be long past and I can move forward with my life. Sound good?"

"So you're saying you would go the whole year without killing anyone?"

"Glad to see the prison world hasn't made you any less perceptive. Yes, if everyone agreed to leave me alone then I would gladly go about my days living off of blood bags. Maybe I would have a cheat day once in a while but I would do my research and make sure they deserve it, real vigilante stuff. I've already put all of the necessary thought into it and this is what I want which coincidentally for all of you is also the solution that ends in the least bloodshed. But I will say that if anyone tries to force me out of this untroubled state of mind in _any_ way… I'll become your worst nightmare. Okay great! Now that that's out of the way let's move on to more pressing matters."

Pulling into the parking lot and finding a spot close to the entrance, Bonnie fell into step with Caroline and spent the next four and a half hours watching Care try on outfits in every clothing store and accessories from all of the others. Bonnie had thought they would have plenty of time to spare before the party tonight but if she knew anything about her friend it was that she was serious about shopping, and she came here on a mission. After her wardrobe was settled they were on the hunt for an outfit to wear tonight and the choices Caroline was suggesting was a step above traumatizing.

"What the hell is this, a bra?"

"Yes, with neon colored spikes all along the front."

"Absolutely not."

"That's what you've been saying _to everything_ ," she groaned, "if I knew how much you weren't going to be into this I would have mulled over dragging Elena along for a little longer."

"Why didn't you ask the both of us to come?"

"Because I didn't want her to," Caroline stated like it was obvious, "she's been a real drag lately, and the way she relates everything back to her? I mean I know I'm pretty self-absorbed, but she deserves an award. Besides, I haven't spent much time with you over the past year on account of thinking you were dead for most of it but since you've been back I've been sufficiently more cheerful so I think you're part of the reason."

"Well… thanks Care," Bonnie said softly letting the statement resonate making her feel uplifted.

"But now you're here turning down every clothing option I've thrown out there for either of us and you're starting to bring me down."

"That's because all you've shown me is lingerie and bikinis - it's December."

"It's _indoors._ "

"And I'm _not wearing those._ "

"Okay, fine, let's see what other appropriate options we can find."

After another twenty minutes of searching and they had both chosen their outfits; Caroline deciding on a neon yellow tank top and a short black skirt while Bonnie found a tie-dye tight fitted halter top and leather pants with open laces going up the side showing her skin, both going with similar short black boots. The next stop was to the hair salon which Bonnie opted out of but Caroline chose to sport something she hadn't tried before, her hair split into think strands with gel giving her a look that brought Bonnie back to the 90's. Although she was able to escape the hair, the makeup was apparently unavoidable and to her disbelief she found that she was enjoying the day with humanity-less Caroline, even with some of her best qualities missing. Making their way to Macy's on the other side of the mall Caroline requested a consultation explaining in vivid detail precisely what she wanted for each of them and the woman went to work on Bonnie.

"Yup, I knew that was a good choice." Caroline concluded looking over her made up face, "makes your eyes pop, and it'll look even better in the black-light with the tie-dye shirt."

Looking to the left Bonnie caught sight of a small mirror and smiled at her reflection. Her lips and cheeks were brushed over with a soft pink frost and her eyes were shining an extra bright shade of green under the contrast of the eyeshadow fading from black to silver and dusted with sparkles. The eyeliner and mascara also brought out the flecks in her irises but it was the small white and silver gems splashed across her skin that really sold the look. Three lines darted out starting at the corner of each eye beginning underneath her eyebrow, across to her ear, and some trickling down low giving the illusion she had sparkling tears. The woman handed her a pair of small diamond earrings and matching necklace that was the same size as the jewels and she put them both on feeling a wave of admiration.

"Wow."

"I know, now scoot it's my turn!" Caroline grinned and Bonnie snorted standing and switching places, choosing the same concept but with a twist.

Care's eyelids were brushed with a white shimmer as well as a similar clear gloss, black eyeliner and mascara to make her blue eyes dazzle, and the finishing touch of a string of small pearls going across her forehead and hidden behind her hair like she wearing a small dainty crown. Grinning at the simple but effective look they both thanked the stylist and checked the time, seeing they were on the cusp of being late for her own party which Caroline did not find acceptable no matter what mindset she was in. Throwing the heaping of bags into the back seat Bonnie got into the driver's seat and sent out a mass text to her friends that she was with Caroline and they were on their way, hovering over Kai's name contemplating.

"Inviting your boyfriend to the party?"

"Excuse me?"

"Kai… the person you've been spending your time with."

"I've seen you and Elena just as much, and he's not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, see that part I already knew, it's just the _why_ that I can't seem to figure out."

"I don't know what you mean," Bonnie murmured skipping past him name and hitting send, turning the key and pulling out of the parking spot.

"I mean I can't figure out why this hot guy who hasn't gotten laid in twenty years is so focused on you if there _wasn't_ something else going on. Obviously he was going to try and get close to you in the prison world, we had all came to that conclusion but no one had anticipated this alliance that you seemed to have created. First, you're worried about him dying, then you couldn't pick a side between us or him," Caroline cracked up laughing, "which caused anarchy; I thought Damon and Jeremy's heads were going to burst and fly off of their bodies like a rocket. And then there was that time when Kai begged me to tell him where you were, and went from an already attractive kid to some mouth-watering buff and scruff upgrade showing up at my mom's funeral looking like he cared way too much about what you thought. It makes sense, Damon's gone and you think it's just going to be the two of you until the end of time; I for one definitely wouldn't have been able to resist that temptation. So you dip your toe in to test out the waters, and then your feet; now you're somewhere in the middle of the ocean with nothing but the anchor of your secrets holding you down and probably wondering how the hell you ended up here."

"Everyone has secrets. Why don't you flip back that switch, maybe we can talk about it."

"Nice try," Caroline leered, "and I don't, at least not really. I prefer to be upfront and brutally honest to get the answers that I need. I've been thinking about it the last few days, what's the point of keeping everything locked inside? No one knows what you're thinking and feeling so it's not like they can just give you what you want, you have to put it out there and demand it. You like some boy? Tell them. Want to do something like switch off your humanity even though you know people won't like it? Who cares. Sometimes you just got to make decisions for you and express the things that need to be said because before you know it one day it could be too late."

"Do you mean with Stefan?" Bonnie wondered and turned to Caroline's profile seeing a slight waver, "are you wishing you told him about how you really feel?"

"No Bonnie, because I've told him a handful of different ways how I felt about him… and it didn't matter. He never said it back, and then the _moment_ I decide to not care about anything he decides to lay it all out there telling me everything I've wanted to hear for the last three years. And isn't that really the best part? All of this time waiting and wanting and knowing Stefan felt something in return, but because he was too much of a coward to admit it I chose to move on and now his promises are just too little too late."

"But that's what you've wanted since his first day of school when you knew everything about him before third period."

"I know, that seems like so long ago."

"Yeah it does," Bonnie muttered, remembering that was the first day she told Elena about Gram's telling her she was a witch and the weird vibes she was starting to have, "but you could have your happy ending with Stefan, _finally._ "

"And if he had undergone this revelation a week before then you could have been right. But alas, destiny had a far more invigorating path in store for me."

"This isn't the ' _Powers That Be'_ at work to make you choose between what you've wanted for years and what you think you need right now, it's just terrible timing."

"Agree to disagree," she said nonchalantly and turned to give her an icy stare, " _seriously_ , and let's move on to something a little more upbeat; like how cool do you think this party will be?"

Bonnie sighed at her failed attempt to conjure up some deep feeling over Stefan hoping to trigger an emotional outburst, and was disheartened to hear Stefan had tried a similar tactic during their time alone and came up emptyhanded as well. Falling in step with the conversation they chatted aimlessly for the remainder of the car ride until she heard the vibrations of music coming from ahead and turned towards it, fading out of her sentence. Two bodyguards stood at the front door and there wasn't a single person outside, Bonnie's heart rate starting to pick up unexpectedly and she had to grip the steering wheel giving an internal pep talk before pushing herself out of the car. Distracting her nerves with Caroline's chatter they both strolled across the grass and the two guys opened up a tarp so they could pass through, Bonnie's breath catching at the mass of people in neon colors jumping around to the music. A quick scan of the room showed there had to be at least twice as many people than at her ' _Welcome-Home Party'_ and instinctively took a step closer to her friend inhaling slow through her nose and out her mouth.

"Okay, have fun!" Caroline yelled starting to weave through the people.

"What?" Bonnie exclaimed grabbing her hand and following close behind, "I'm sticking by your side."

"I don't need a babysitter Bonnie; I'm not going to go off the rails in a party that _I_ arranged."

"Who said anything about babysitting, I came here with you I want to hang out with you. Besides, this is more for me anyway," she smiled and tried to pull herself out of her uneasiness, spinning Caroline back towards her and letting go as they both laughed and danced to the music.

-x—x—x—

Kai smirked seeing Stefan's name flash across his screen and answered after a few rings. "Ah, if it isn't my favorite Salvatore; has our recent companionship progressed to calling each another?"

"Not quite, I'm at the warehouse party and I could use you for something."

"Okay, I'll bite; what's up?"

"Plan A didn't go as I'd hoped-"

"It never does."

"So I'm going to try it again with a more forced approach."

"Liking the sound of things so far."

"Vampires are able to compel humans but we can't do it to each other, I could ask Bonnie this but Caroline might suspect it coming from her and retaliate. I was hoping you knew some way that would make Care more susceptible to suggestion."

"Like a hypnotism spell?" Kai thought out loud, "hm, usually I would need time to put together a potion for something like that since it's the most effective, but being as all-powerful as I am I'm sure my compelling words of persuasion will do just fine."

"How sure are you? Caroline made it clear that if she senses anyone trying to mess with her she'll fire back."

"You're the one behind the wheel; I'm just along for the ride. But this is quite the favor you're asking of me, I would think it's only right to assume if I ever needed some assistance out of a jam that I could rely on at least one Salvatore."

"Fine," Stefan said with formality, "We're at the warehouse off campus."

"Hey, uh – just curious, how's Bonnie doing?" Kai asked followed by a beat of silence, "I mean does she look anxious, or maybe on the verge of a panic attack?"

"No… why?"

"Oh you know curiosity and all that, I'll be there soon."

Sliding the phone into his back pocket Kai put on his boots and threw on his new fancy black coat over his dark gray striped V-neck. Scanning through the Parker Grimoire Kai found that there were a few options of hypnotism spells; some for certain aspects while others were for its potency, the potions being the most influential. Locating the basic verbal spell that causes a temporary psychic hold over something through hypnotherapy, Kai read over the words a few times locking it into memory before heading out the door. Pulling the keys from his pocket he hit the unlock button and took a moment to admire the new love of his life that came here by the magic express; an all-black Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce with black interior and red accentuates in the seats, steering wheel, tires, and a jagged zigzag above the back tire. Sliding into the driver's seat the engine purred to life and Kai copied its sound, feeling goosebumps as he leaned back into the cushion and was getting hit with flashes of seeing visions of the Batmobile on the outside and a futuristic Star Trek-y vibe on the inside. Gliding with ease down the streets his new car brought him to the final destination in less than ten minutes, Kai knowing it usually took twice as long to the average driver.

Nodding a recognition to the bodyguards opening up the tarps to let him inside Kai's eyebrows shot up soaking in the scene straight out of the late 80's / early 90's; filled with black-lights, body paint, outrageous outfits – heavy on the fur stockings and animal hats, and a DJ playing house and techno music. Checking his outfit Kai felt severely overdressed and for once out of character in his dark clothing and stood at the entrance debating where he should make his next move. Avoiding the mess of people in front of him Kai stuck to the perimeter and ventured to the right, making his way closer to the bar when he noticed Stefan and Damon farther up in an adjoining room and walked in grinning.

"Of all the stupid ideas you've come up with, brother, this has got to be one of the worst."

"Awh, so nice to see you too Damon; tell my dad I said hi," Kai winked and turned to Stefan changing to a serious tone, "listen I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know how effective this _power of persuasion_ tactic is going to be against a supernatural vampire who is hardwired to fight off this very thing. Not to mention it's about her humanity so there's that whole freewill matter in question, but if it does work you'll have a ten minute window to feed her whatever you want her to hear and hopefully it'll stick."

"Hopefully," Damon scoffed, "and if it doesn't then Saint Caroline will start snapping necks – preferably yours."

"The only reason I'm here is because your brother called me up and said he needed my help. Would you prefer me to just leave right now, you can figure out this whole hypnoanalysis business and call it a night?"

"Remind me again why we can't just get Bon-Bon in there to do her thing like usual?"

"Because Damon, sticking her in the middle of the equation puts her at risk; we don't know what Caroline could be capable of and we saw what Elena and Bonnie went through when she was off the rails."

"Also for this sort of thing you generally need an elixir and time beforehand to make it, or an overly qualified witch which I do believe we have in the building. So now that I'm here, where's the patient?" Damon's eyes stayed in their perpetual squinted glare and Stefan nodded with his head over Kai's shoulder to the bubbly blonde flirting with the bartender. Turning and weaving his way through the crowd Kai planted himself on the left side of Caroline and bumped her shoulder, "If it isn't the woman of the hour."

"So Bonnie called her boy-toy after all. Good, I'm glad she's taking the initiative it's taken her long enough."

"Won't argue with you there," Kai nodded wondering why Bonnie hadn't called him if she had thought about it earlier, "let me ask you something; has she always been so… difficult?"

"In what way?"

"In the infuriatingly headstrong and uncompromising way."

"Only for as long as I've known her."

"Good, as long as it's not just me," Kai grinned and leaned over the counter to the bartender signaling two more shots and slid one in front of her, "a toast to you for bringing the 90's back to present day for a night."

Caroline smiled throwing back her shot and he followed, "okay now my turn to ask you a question; are you and Bonnie still hooking up?"

"What?" Kai uttered through his laughter.

"I'm about 99% sure that _something_ happened between you guys in the prison world, you're too… chummy."

"Well, we are friends."

"No I don't think so, because it doesn't seem like Bonnie wants to be your friend and yet she's still spending time with you. I mean she is a beautiful girl, and you're pretty hot yourself so I think after Damon left the steamy tension was too much to handle."

"I would love to be the guy in your fantasy right now, beats being the one who keeps getting the cold shoulder."

"It's just this thing she does, pushing people away that try to get close to her. It's been six years and she's _still_ shutting out Damon," Caroline laughed, "on the surface they could be considered a level below adversaries but on the inside she knows she loves him and would protect him like she does with everyone else. But it's just Bonnie, she doesn't trust people or get close to guys; and then when she does they cheat on her - kind of ironic, don't you think?"

Kai cocked his head taken by surprise at this unknown information and thought back to conversations between them and those he's eavesdropped on if she's dated anyone besides Jeremy.

"You mean _little Gilbert?_ I'll be damned," he let out having conflicting emotions of irascibility wanting to track him down and a pinch of satisfaction feeling slightly vindicated over his irrational detestation for the kid. "That never came up during group."

"You know you're pretty funny, even though you're just trying to distract me."

"I'm not trying to distract you, at least not yet. I'm just asking you things I want to know."

"And honest – _huh_ ," Caroline muttered running the side of her index finger over her chin, "before the whole ' _serial family murderer_ ' title you must have been very popular with the ladies."

"Not exactly – well…" Kai stopped short thinking over a handful of scenarios in variations of being the typical no strings-attached type of guy and the reactions he received back because of it. "I wasn't always so honest."

"I find that hard to believe, seeing how before you went through this freaky sibling merge business you would have been considered in the same mindset that I'm in now, carefree with the emotional cues taking a backseat."

"I'd say that's a fair analogy."

"So it wouldn't have made a difference if you told everyone exactly how it is because _who cares_ how they respond or what the blowbacks may be. I have felt so liberated these past few days, living each day without the stress of life getting in the way. I mean hello, have you seen this party?" she pepped grabbing his shoulders and shaking them.

"Wow, this is kind of a shame; I think I like you more this way."

"I like me more this way too," Caroline smiled brightly and hit the counter twice with her palm making another two shots appear and held one up for him to take. "Here is to the new me!"

Clanking shot-glasses they both threw back the clear liquid and Kai looked over Caroline's inattentive state of mind and knew this was his window, putting the glass on the table and grabbing her wrist making the connection.

"I just have one more thing to say," leaning in close Kai could sense Caroline's urge to lean back but held her ground instead giving him a skeptical side glance, and he brought his face close to her ear whispering, "I hope you're not like me when it comes to getting duped. _Ecce, vocavi te ad hypnotize, et recipit vim meam._ "

Repeating the chant another time Kai leaned back into Caroline's vacant and wandering gaze and could tell she was successfully under the hypnotism for a short amount of time. Scanning the bar area for Stefan he motioned for him to come over and reminded him of the ticking timeframe. Switching places Kai drifted away from that scene and went in search of Bonnie, a little unnerved with himself that she was so easy for him to seek out – her bright tie-dye shirt having nothing to do with it. Creeping up behind her Elena stood in front of her and noticed him coming, Kai putting his finger up his lips and grinning mischievously as he stood so close Bonnie was starting to dance against him and ran his fingers up her bare arms.

"Hey!" she exclaimed spinning around and pushing against his chest, her fuming expression disappearing the moment her eyes lifted to see his face. "What the hell, Kai?"

"I'm going to check on Caroline, I'll catch up with you!" Elena yelled in Bonnie's ear and was out of sight.

Bonnie looked back up into Kai's eyes and he couldn't help smiling at her made-up face and flashy jewels around her eyes making it look like her irises were twice as bright. Running over the rest of her outfit he leaned his head over to the side to get a better angle of her pants and let out a long whistle.

"I didn't think I would see the day I found you in sexy leather pants with all these laces going down the side. And then there's these," Kai motioned stepping closer and running his thumb softly against her cheek under the gems, "I like this look on you."

"That's because you're perpetually stuck in the 90's," Bonnie winked and Kai sniggered, nodding in agreement.

"It _was_ a fun generation, so how come you didn't invite me to the party too?"

"Apparently I don't need to; you're making friends all on your own. Who told you, Caroline?"

"The better Salvatore brother, as a matter of fact. I know, peaked my interest too." Reaching for Bonnie's hand Kai tugged her into his chest holding her close and spun them around a few times, feeling her body shaking in his arms. "Are you cold?"

"No?" she let out confused and he looked over her appearance noting her gaze was out of focus.

"Feeling tipsy?" Kai smiled and Bonnie returned it closing her eyes for a moment letting her makeup shimmer against the strobe lights.

"I've had some drinks, but good luck trying to keep up with a vampire," Bonnie stated poking him in the chest with her finger, "although it does help take off the edge."

"You know you can always call me for that," Kai remarked suggestively and Bonnie snorted continuing to dance to the rhythm in his embrace.

"And yet I managed to find another effective way that deals with my jitters just fine."

"I'm way better than a bottle of liquor," he purred dropping his head close to her ear, Bonnie swaying forward and pressing her palm to his chest, "but you already knew that."

Sliding her gaze up slowly Kai's teasing grin faded when he saw the blazing heat in Bonnie's eyes inches from his that he's seen on her before, and it was as if she was able to ignite the same ravenous feeling within him with a single look. Licking his lips Kai observed her eye-line drop to his mouth and bit his bottom lip smiling, Bonnie blinking rapidly and taking a step back while grabbing his hand.

"The music's too loud it's hard to hear you."

Linking his fingers through hers Kai followed close behind through the herd of faceless neon outfits making his way back into the room he was just in with Stefan and Damon. Instead of being close to the entrance like he was previously Bonnie moved deeper into the room to a more secluded area that reminded Kai of the sensory room one of his younger brothers had; the lights casting different shades of colors on the walls, white couches with neon lights scattered around and five large glass cylinder tubes from floor to ceiling filled with water and fluorescent blue bulbs floating in them. Avoiding the people on the couches both steered for the colored cylinders and Bonnie leaned back on the wall next to them while Kai faced her head on.

"Well this is cozy."

"I needed a place where I could hear myself think, and now that I found it why did Stefan want you to come here? The last time someone invited you somewhere there was an ulterior motive behind it."

"This is still one of those times; he wanted me to work a little mojo on Caroline."

"What?" she said quickly standing straight and swaying into him, "what did you do?"

"I may have sprinkled a little hypnotism dust over her so he could convince her to flip the switch back."

"Why didn't he tell me this? Kai she warned me of the wrath and death count she'd bring if we tried forcing her to come back. And I was with her all day, she isn't the same girl that I love and grew up with but she didn't turn into someone else completely like Elena either. I don't care what Stefan says, don't do it," Bonnie said with definitiveness and something in his expression must have given him away as his eyes wandered to the right towards the rave. "You already did, didn't you?"

"I really thought that you were going to be on board with it. You were so worried this morning and thinking up ways to get your friend back and I figured I was just skipping a few steps."

"And what happens if it doesn't work?" Bonnie huffed.

" _That_ I also thought of and don't have a solution for but its fine, don't worry about it; worst case scenario Caroline comes after me or Stefan and we get ourselves out of it with our charm. But there is also a chance that he'll be able to break through and trick her back into this lifestyle of stressing out over every detail; isn't that what you want?"

Kai felt a sharp impact in his back on the lower right-hand side below his kidney and let out a pained sound, throwing his palm against the wall next to Bonnie's head to keep himself up. Kai's heavy lids looked at Bonnie's frantic expression gaping back at him and then over his right shoulder, yelling out before he was hit with another piercing stabbing and he fell to his knees.

"You know, you really should check with the Misses when it comes to making half-baked rash decisions," Caroline vocalized from behind patting him on the shoulder, "what if the consequences of your actions resulted in someone getting hurt?"

" _Don't_ ," Kai grunted moving to stand but her vampire strength on his shoulder kept him down.

"When you wake up, be sure to grab Stefan and meet us at the Grill," Caroline winked and drew her knee up connecting with his nose and knocking him backwards.

-x—x—x—

The sound of a loud buzzing shifted Bonnie out of her tired state, opening her groggy lids and seeing a hazy dimly lit room of the Mystic Grill. Groaning and reaching for her throbbing skull her arm stayed locked in its position and pulled at the other in the same feeble attempt, her vision clearing and noting her hands were tied behind the metal pole she was leaning against. The bar table in front of her let Bonnie know she was standing on the opposite side and glanced to her right at an unfamiliar unconscious girl that was tied to the next pole and Elena started to stir on the other side of her. The loud grating started up again off to the left and Bonnie turned to Caroline cranking up the blender at the end of the bar before going back to fixing up the glasses and caught Bonnie's movement.

"Oh hey, you're up! Sorry for the whole ' _knocking you unconscious and taking you here against your will'_ routine but I figured it was the easiest solution."

"Why are we here?" Bonnie rasped through the pounding of her head.

"Well _you_ are here because Kai tried taking a stab at being a good guy – no pun intended – and I can't have either of your witchy interruptions getting in the way tonight, so you are my collateral to make sure he doesn't try anything else. And I'm keeping you close in case you get any ideas trying to stop me which will force me to kill someone else in the room. So, as long as you stay tied to that pole and both keep your powers in check while staying out of the way, no one should end up severely injured. I brought Elena along because no matter what Stefan always seems to have a soft spot for her which I've finally found a way to use to my advantage, and there's the chance he'll bring Damon along with him. And finally, Sarah Salvatore," Caroline stated with a grand gesture and Bonnie's eyebrows drew in turning her head in the opposite direction to look over the girl that looked to be the same age, "Stefan's hidden secret that's going to get some long overdue exploitation."

" _Salvatore?_ "

"The one and only; get a good look at Stefan's niece that's been tucked away out of Damon's radar for all of these years. He told me about her when things started getting serious with my mom and I'm pleasantly surprised with myself that I've already found use for her."

"What are you talking about? What's going on, Care?"

"Ugh keep up Bonnie, I thought you were the brainy one," she said through a roll of her eyes and dipped the rim of a margarita glass in salt pouring in the lime-green beverage and taking a long sip. "Mm, you should really have one of these – maybe later. And I could tell you the whole reveal but then I'll just have to explain it all over again when the boys arrive so I think I'll leave it a mystery for now."

"Care?" Elena groaned, "what's going on?"

"See what I mean?" Caroline said pointedly and took another sip, "all in due time, Elena."

"Why…" she let looking from Sarah to Bonnie and landing on Caroline, "so what happened to you being able to _handle_ life with no humanity?"

"Oh I'm doing just fine, it's everyone else that seems to be having trouble adjusting; thus this hasty turn of events that has taken me away from the awesome party I threw together. Honestly I'm hoping they hurry up so I can get back there and finish my night the right way."

"So what's stopping you from just going back now and forgetting about this? You say you don't care what any of us think or say."

"I don't, it's your actions that seem to be getting in the way. Or failed attempts are a better description, but I still don't appreciate the effort and _that_ is why we are still here."

"To get us to back off?"

"I only have one person in mind."

"Stefan," Bonnie murmured whipping her head towards Caroline, "whatever you're doing is to ensure Stefan won't make you turn it on; what are you planning?"

"I'd sure love to know the answer," Stefan commented walking through the front door across the room followed by Damon and Kai.

"Well I was wondering if you all were ever going to show up," Caroline laughed taking another sip of her drink, "and they say girls are the ones that are always late."

"What-"Sarah shrieked jolting forward and yanking at the ropes, " _what's going on!"_

"Ah, perfect timing, now we can begin," Caroline chirped finishing the last of her drink and staying behind the bar walking past Bonnie and stopping between Sarah and Elena, leaning on the bar facing away from them.

"Caroline, I'm sorry – _please_ , I shouldn't have pushed you."

"You think?" she laughed, "after the several warnings and threats made on everyone's lives during our little road trip; that didn't clue you in?"

"Oh come on, Blondie."

"I did it because I care about you, because I want the old you back."

"Stop it."

"The one that I want to be with."

"I said _stop,_ " Caroline hissed in a low bravado, grabbing a bottle of Vodka and breaking the neck before speedily pouring it all over Bonnie's legs and feet followed by the other girls. Turning back to the guys moving towards them Caroline held up a lighter with the flame burning halting their steps. "See this is what I'm talking about Stefan, you're a liability to my freedom; you seem to have a direct line to my heart that I can't shake. I can still see your loyalty and thoughtfulness, the way you look at me that makes me feel like I'm not crazy or broken; that's the person I fell for and the only one who'd be able to bring me back."

Bonnie felt the rope around her wrists loosening and scanned over to Kai staring back at her, giving her even more slack before she shook her head ceasing his action. Up until now no one has really taken Caroline's threats seriously but once again Bonnie found herself picking the short straw and on the opposing end of an issue where her life was at stake. Taking in Kai's livid and bewildered reaction she smiled striving to ease some of his frustration but could see his clenched jaw and tense stance all the way from across the room.

"If this is about a reunion between the two of you do I really need to be here?" Kai wondered taking a casual step forward and Caroline flicked off the flame.

"Seeing how you had a hand in tonight's failure; yes."

"I'm getting penalized for trying to _help?_ Wow, I guess it's true no good deed goes unpunished."

"Couldn't agree more, and since your witchy ways had a hand in interfering I thought it was fit for you to have someone to lose as well," Caroline motioned to Bonnie, "seemed the right motivation to get you to do what I want."

"And what's that?"

"Be my backup plan," she gleamed and turned her attention back on Stefan, "but that all depends on what you decide."

"On what?"

"Is it not obvious? I'm having such a good time and you're the one that's going to be able to drag me away from it; ergo, I want you to join me."

"Care-"

"What?" Elena uttered.

"Bad play, vampire Barbie."

"If I could finish what I was saying, please… thank you. I want you to turn it off and revel in this way of life with me, this laid-back state of mind that we can enjoy together. I should tell you though that if you don't choose to do so willingly, there _is_ the option of Kai using his sorcery on you seeing how if no one makes a move," Caroline shrugged and lit the lighter again, "well… witches, humans, and vampires all burn the same, right?"

"You wouldn't dare," Damon seethed.

"These are your best friends, Caroline," Stefan said soothingly, "if your issue's with me then we can go somewhere and talk about it, or I can leave town and not bother you at all."

"It wouldn't make a difference, I'd know you were out there and could at any given moment drop in and uproot my life. Besides I'd rather you closer than farther, and stating ones intentions to inflict harm on loved ones always does seem to be the best medicine for motivation, wouldn't you say? But I would choose quickly, this one's getting antsy," Caroline murmured trailing her finger in the air over Sarah's appearance and looked back to the other side of the room. "Damon, unless you want Elena to be first one to test out this ultimatum I'd wipe that determination off your face. Or maybe we should do _Eenie-Meenie_ to see who the lucky winner may be."

"Anyone have a better idea?" Damon questioned out loud.

Saying the words unhurriedly Caroline went down the line from Bonnie, to Sarah, then Elena and back; landing on each of them during a pause in the song and Bonnie noticed the guy's reacting in their own ways and could feel the tension radiating off two of the three. Stefan stayed planted in the same spot but Kai and Damon broke off from either side of him, taking subtle steps towards the bar and ignoring Bonnie's silent pleas. Caroline smiled down at her, aware of what was going on behind her and brought the flame closer to Elena's face and then Bonnie's in a taunting manner.

"But I guess the stereotype that girls are smarter than boys holds true," Care shook her head and spun back towards them, "oh well – times up."

"Caroline!" Stefan boomed when she swiveled and grabbed Sarah's throat, dragging the lighter down her side towards her alcohol-soaked clothing. Everyone's eyes trailed back to Stefan watching a ghostly calm settle over him and closed his eyes.

"Stefan-"Damon began walking towards him and was thrown backwards over chairs and tables crashing into a booth.

"Don't you dare shut it off!" Elena cried out, "Stefan!"

Before Bonnie could react Stefan opened his eyes and a thick fog of arrogance wafted around him changing his appearance as a smirk broke free and sauntered towards the bar. Grabbing a margarita glass from the edge he filled it and gulped down the liquid, humming in content and putting it back on the counter.

"That's better. What do you say we get out of here? It's looking a little crowded."

Beaming brightly Caroline took Stefan's hand and hopped up on the bar crossing to the other side and both zoomed out of the building in a blur. Yanking at the ropes Bonnie had almost one arm free before Kai was in front of her and loosened them by hand, staring down at her with a disgruntled expression that resonated in his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she blew out loudly looking away and let out a wounded sound when Kai touched a spot on the side of her head, smacking his hand away. "Go help them."

With a wave of his left hand Sarah and Elena pulled their arms free from the rope and stepped forward rubbing their wrists. Looking back to Kai she expected a cocky grin over his new effortless powers but his grimace stayed in place.

"See how easy that could have been?"

"There was already one screw up tonight that resulted in people's lives in danger, I wasn't in the mood to press my luck and see how Caroline reacted."

"Okay well next time you say, ' _Kai, why aren't you more helpful?_ ' I'm going to remind you of this incident."

"I hate to break up this squabble but now we have _two_ vampires on the loose missing a key part of their personalities," Damon remarked, "how are we supposed to go up against that?"

"We'll find another way," Bonnie argued refusing to give up hope even with this major setback, "we keep working on Caroline until she breaks, and she'll help us bring back Stefan."

"But she said Stefan was the only one that could bring her back," Elena said sadly.

"She also said she couldn't afford to let my witchy qualities interfere, so Care has a shadow of doubt in her mind that I'd be able to break through – and I can, I just need to figure out how."

"Well then get to it, spout that fairy dust and tell me where they are."

"And what would that solve right now? What could you say to them now that would work after what just happened?"

"We have to-"

"Be smart," Kai finished for him, "think things through before you act. I know it's not something that you're used to but the hands-on approach didn't seem to work for one vampire, I doubt you'll have any better luck with two."

"So what are we supposed to do, just let them run rampant?" Elena bickered.

"You both feel free to take on the vampire approach, trapping them in the dungeon and drying them out and I'll hit the Grimoire's."

Bonnie could feel the aggravation at herself, her friends, and the way the night took a substantial turn that resulted in yet another setback for them. Saying her goodbye's to everyone Bonnie hugged Elena tight and stormed out the door starting off down the street.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Kai asked running up beside her dangling keys from his left index finger, "When we have a ride waiting right around the corner."

"These aren't my Gram's keys," she said examining them and he scooped them into the palm of his hand.

"Nope, they're mine; come on," he said cheerfully and headed back towards the Grill.

Bonnie's head turned hearing the new information and followed him out of curiosity; her jaw feeling like it unhinged itself over the sudden open-mouthed expression. This sleek sport's car is the type of vehicle everybody dreams about; sexy, fast, and way too expensive to ever have. The angles on the front hood reminded Bonnie of the Batmobile, as did the wing on the back and her smile flashed wide at the accentuates of the dark crimson hinting at the covert dangers it was capable of; the parallel it had to Kai sending a bubbling laugh up her throat.

" _Very_ fitting," Bonnie commented running her hand over the red lightning bolt looking stripe on the back and heard Kai's deep rumble behind her.

"Wait until you see the inside," his grin spread, opening up the passenger door for her and she pivoted to face him, the corner of her mouth lifting before sliding onto the seat and running her hands over the cushions in appreciation. Knowing with certainty this was the nicest car she's ever been in her eyebrow raised in skepticism and looked him over as he got into the driver's seat. "I think I'm in love. I mean I've never experienced it before but this has got to be what it feels like."

"Butterflies?"

" _And_ goosebumps."

"Crave being around it?"

"Starting to."

"Now for the big one; would you put your life on the line for this car?"

Kai hummed out loud running his fingers around the steering wheel and across the dash, "she _is_ beautiful."

"Well then congratulations, you're _whipped_ ," Bonnie said cheekily and Kai's face lit up breaking out his toothy grin.

"Did you just hit me with a pun? Oh I think I'm rubbing off on you, I'm so proud," Kai exclaimed through his laughter and she joined in shaking her head.

"I have to ask though since you spent the better part of your life without a job – how did you afford this?"

"Oh Bon, no one ever taught you the perks of being a witch, did they? First and foremost, money is just man-made fancy paper that you and I can replicate with ease. Secondly, we're also very gifted at creating things out of thin air."

"So money has no value to you?"

"Hasn't for the last eighteen years, why start now? In my experience it can make people ugly if they don't have it, or work too much for it; I'm just coming up with a better way."

"You really do have a methodical answer for everything, don't you?" Bonnie teased putting on her seatbelt and leaning forward to investigate all of the dials on the radio.

"The burden of being a genius," Kai winked and revved the engine going from 0 to 60 in three seconds down main street sending a thrill up Bonnie's spine igniting her eyes and leaned back to get comfortable.

"Take the highway; let's see what this can do."


	18. Chapter 18

"You were serious? You're really going to hit the Grimoire's at," Kai pulled out his phone from his back pocket, "two in the morning?"

"It appears so," Bonnie commented planting herself on the bed surrounded by books, leaning back against the headboard and looked over to Kai standing in the doorframe with a raised eyebrow.

"You know you reek of booze, right?"

Pursing her lips Bonnie blew out a breath and pushed the book aside, heaving her legs over the bed and crossing the room until she was blocked by a human wall. Trailing her eyes up his wide frame Kai stared back at her with mischief etched across his features but didn't make a move towards her or to back away, Bonnie needing to physically push him out of the way with a palm to the center of his chest and continued across the hall to the bathroom and shut the door. Letting her head thud back against the wood Bonnie regained her momentum and quickly stripped out of her outfit, throwing her pants, socks, and underwear into the hamper in the corner of the room and tossed her shirt and bra on the sink. Feeling the hot water hit her face Bonnie felt the relaxation cascading over her and lulling her into a foggy serenity, wiping her face clean of the jewels and makeup and washing her body before eventually turning off the dial.

Stepping out of the shower Bonnie swiveled around her surroundings letting out an aggravated sound forgetting to grab a change of clothes before leaving the bedroom. Drying off she debated if she should risk crossing the hallway to get clothes and Kai finding her in a towel or dressing back in the same clothes until she got pajamas, scooping her shirt off the counter and noticed a sliver of white fabric on the floor beside it. Crouching down Bonnie pulled the cotton free of its confinement and saw it was the shirt Kai was wearing the other day and must have left it behind when he jumped in the shower. Looking over the material Bonnie clucked her tongue and stood holding the shirt up to her chest to check the length and made a rapid decision, pulling her arms through the sleeves and seeing it come up to her upper thighs just below her butt in the mirror. With the goal of sprinting from one room to the next and changing she made it to the underwear drawer sliding on a pair just before Kai appeared in the doorway.

"Do you want-"he began and the words faded out as his eye-line trailed down her body and tilted his head to the side a fraction, "are you wearing my shirt?"

"Just for a second, I overlooked the change of clothes."

"I don't mind," Kai crossed his arms over his chest grinning, " _at all._ "

Bonnie breathed out a laugh and turned away looking through the drawers and scooping up a pair of polka-dot pajama shorts. "What were you going to ask?" she wondered sliding them on as they disappeared under the shirt.

"Hm?" he hummed gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

"You were seeing if I wanted something?"

Kai's brows drew in bemused for an instant before his manner lightened and laughed out once, "yes – food; I'm making scramble eggs, do you want some?"

"Kai it's _two in the morning_ ," Bonnie mimicked in a whiny tone and his smile flashed wide, "so of course I'm hungry."

"I'll be back," he chuckled and turned out of sight, looking over to the Grimoire's on the bed and making her way over settling in before cracking one open. Ten minutes into the study session and the tranquility from the shower mixed with her body unwinding from the days endeavors was making Bonnie starting to believe she was never going to get off of this page, scanning through the same paragraph before Kai's voice jolted a rush of adrenaline through her. "Wow, you can read with your eyes closed? You'll have to teach me that one."

"They weren't closed, I was just a little zoned out."

"If by ' _a little'_ you mean completely and ' _zoned out_ ' is code for falling asleep," he remarked putting the plate of food over the open book and her hunger spiked seeing the heaping of scrambled eggs and pieces of toast cut diagonally. Leaning over her legs and putting his plate beside her Kai pulled two water bottles out of his coat pockets then shrugged it off, tossing it lazily to his left into the closet and going around the bed sitting near her shins. "You should just hold off 'til the morning, you're not going to be able to concentrate."

"I have to, Caroline and Stefan-"

"Are living the dream right now," Kai finished for her taking a bite out of the toast and grinning, "and they'll be fine."

"Oh I know, it's everyone else I'm worried about. Care still has herself in check in a lot of ways which is surprising to say the least… but Stefan is a ripper. He made a career out of being a serial killer in the 20's and went off the rails again a couple years ago because of Klaus and turned into someone none of us knew."

"He didn't have Caroline before, maybe it'll help," Kai offered and Bonnie looked over to him scooping a pile of eggs onto his toast unmindful to the fact that he just displayed an act of genuine sympathy and consideration over what someone else was going through and felt her stomach twist and tighten in response, going for the water bottle to ease the pressure.

"Well that was thoughtful," Bonnie uttered in a voice that sounded too soft and quiet to be her own and Kai glanced up from his plate, his face turning serious for a beat before the corner of his mouth curved up.

"All part of this new cutting-edge model." Raising her eyebrow and battling the impulse to smirk Bonnie pushed the plate aside and cleared her throat going for round two against the Grimoire. "You are way too tired and tipsy to be trying to save the day… or night, technically."

"I don't care."

"And even if you do find something you'll still have to wait until the morning to test it out, unless you think you can spring up into action over the next few hours. And that's after you read through all of those chapters in this arrangement of books you have going on."

"I think the food helped, I don't feel as tired now," Bonnie insisted and Kai yawned on command.

"Funny, because I think that's what's going to make me pass out." Finishing his plate Kai leaned onto his knees putting the plate on the bedside table and reached for a pillow near his feet as Bonnie looked to her left at what he was doing. Peering up at Kai staring back at her before, his gaze lifted to her forehead bringing his left hand to the side of her head and brushed over a tender spot. "I forgot about this."

"It's a bump on the head, I think I'll survive. Speaking of which how are those stab wounds treating you?"

"Already healed and back to my strong and healthy self. I _love_ having power; it makes my days so much easier. Here I'll show you, lean forward." Bonnie checked him out of the corner of her eye and tilted her head a fraction away from him which he could feel since his palm was still near her temple. Cocking his head to the side a hint of a smile started to spread and sucked in his bottom lip. "Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just not that worried about the small injury I have when there are more pressing matters at hand."

"Yeah but you're hurt and I can fix it; will you just come here?" he exasperated and the cranky outburst had her breaking first, moving her plate to the bedside table and scooted closer snickering and Kai's lazy smile spread closing his eyes and nodded forward once, " _thank you._ This is the same spell you saw me use the other day with Olivia; sucks at first but then you're good as new. Ready?"

"Sure," she said and heard him mutter ' _curare'_ in the same breath, Bonnie letting out a sharp sound and reaching up for the side of her head where the pain was coming from and gripped her fingers around Kai's. An instant later the harsh pressure subsided and her hand loosened around his, Kai turning his to press their palms together and let them fall into her lap. "Mm, that does feel better."

Flashing his boyish grin Kai went back for the same pillow with his right hand and pushed it behind him, lying back opposite her with his left hand still clasped around her right and sticking his legs up resting them on the top of the headboard tilting his head towards her.

"So I've been wondering, how did you keep it together tonight?"

"With…"

"That warehouse filled with kids bumping into someone's shoulder or back everywhere you turned, that seemed a little more severe than your coming home party."

"Oh it was."

"So, how'd you do it?"

"With a lot of liquor," she stated as a matter of fact and could hear the deep laughter coming all the way from his stomach.

" _Bonnie._ "

" _I know,_ but the occasion called for it and it really got the job done of making me momentarily forget I was trapped in a room with hundreds of other people. And – ironically – I had Caroline to keep me distracted and then Elena when she came with the guy's not long after."

"And then I showed up."

"And then the night turned to Hell, I wonder if those two factors coincide?" Bonnie hummed out loud.

"You know… it could be," he vocalized staring up at the ceiling in contemplation, "because that did tend to happen a lot growing up – granted I was causing the mayhem in my fair share of situations, but this time I think I had good intentions."

Bonnie's teasing countenance shifted expecting Kai to respond in an equally sassy manner and felt a pang in her chest and squeezed his hand in response, "I was just kidding, lighten up. Wow," she laughed out, "I didn't think I'd ever have to say that to you."

" _Right?_ " Kai groaned and threw his right arm over his eyes with his nose landing in the crook of his elbow, "this is the worst."

"What?"

"All of it," he whined.

"I think I'm going to need you to be a little more specific."

" _Feelings are_ _hard_ ; they show up at the strangest times, and they're confusing because they warp your perception against your actions. I mean what is that? If I do something I obviously _wanted_ it to happen so explain to me how six other emotions of uncertainty, guilt and apprehension, along with a whole mess of other horrendous qualities come bubbling up out of nowhere. It's so stressful," Kai huffed and his look of genuine discomfort and irritation over the topic of him ' _feeling_ things' that Bonnie doesn't like to vocally discuss brought a sound of amusement up her vocal cords, and he lifted his arm off of his eyes looking over at her with the same surprise at her reaction that she felt and struggled to compose herself.

"Sorry, go on."

"Oh no you just keep on continuing to find joy in my misery," he laughed through a bright smile and Bonnie could feel her insides warming, rising up to her cheeks at their playfulness and familiarity with one another.

"I'm just recalling all of the times you had a clear cut and no-nonsense mindset for everything."

The unconventional way they came into each other's lives bulldozed through any traditional steps towards building a basic connection with someone, and left the two of them starting from the bottom and grappling their way through; creating a type of relationship with someone that she has never come up against before. Kai brought out Bonnie's most heinous and ruthless traits within her; acting on and vocalizing some vile things to him for months on end that she did not think she was capable of, and yet she is still spending time with him. Not only that, but now _she wants to_ , and against every remark Bonnie's spewed his way he hasn't seemed to let it phase him… or stop him.

"See that's what I've been telling you, that easygoing way of life seems to be long gone these days and I'm almost certain it's the stress that's aging me."

"That _is_ what happens to most of us," she agreed and closed her eyes rubbing tiredly at the left one, the sensation feeling so good that she pulled her intertwined fist up to her right and did it same motion. Spots clouded her vision as it tried to clear the haze and Kai nudged the side of her hip towards him and the movement had her teetering over to the side as her head landed on his stomach awkwardly, not able to catch herself in time. "That was graceful."

"You always are," he winked, "and that wasn't quite what I had intended but it'll do."

Bonnie had the thought to move away from him and get back to her designated side of the bed knowing Kai wouldn't argue with her on it but to her astonishment she found this position to be extremely comfortable and felt her body turning on its side to face him and curling her legs in towards his head. Running his hand down her hip his fingertips danced across her skin in a soothing rhythm and her body eased into his with a final exhale.

"So I've also been curious about something but we haven't had the chance to talk much since you've been back, how was your coven leader ceremony?"

"It was actually pretty good," Kai exclaimed enthused invoking the same reaction out of her over seeing his sudden charge of delight, "no one tried to kill me – that unexpected turn of events was cause enough for celebration all on its own."

"Well tell me about it," Bonnie encouraged and the look Kai was giving her sent a flurry through her head and stomach.

"We had the ceremony at my friend Ashley's house – we grew up together in the coven – and every member aside from the Parker bloodline was there which I didn't anticipate at all. Not meaning that my family wasn't there, obviously; I thought that was pretty funny but there ended up being quite a turnout. So then we threw on the robes and circled up doing chants while I stood in the middle-"

"Really? You did the whole 1800's setup?"

"Oh yeah, Gemini's had to have been still around being necromancers back then, we had to get our traditions from somewhere. And then I lit some candles and got my alignment in check against Lucas and Josette's input and gave an ounce of my power to everyone else so that we're connected."

"Did you have to chant with them too?"

"No, thankfully – but I did initiate my first member into the club! And that came with a few formal commands that I may have paraphrased the whole way through."

"That's so cool," Bonnie let out with animation, her affection for the witchcraft and history behind it getting appeased with a deep satisfaction hearing about Kai's old-school escapades. "Who was it?"

"Ashley's little sister, Anna. In the coven there are six families but there are only 22 core members and a spot just so happened to open up when I came into power."

"Can you initiate anyone?"

"Anyone over eighteen."

"Oh, did she just make the deadline?"

"She tried convincing me she's 23; I mean she was five when I disappeared so the timeline adds up but it's still weird. I knew her when she was a baby."

"And now she's your age," Bonnie concluded as her stomach felt like it rolled sending a wave of bile up her throat, her mind finding the impulsive reaction inexcusable.

"Physically; there's actually a few kids in the coven now but it's still mainly the Elders who would spend their last moments on Earth figuring out a way to get rid of me before they jumped into this new way of sorcery I have planned," Kai smirked continuing to trail his hand all over her bare legs and pressed his luck whenever he moved back behind her thigh and inched his fingers up until they grazed her shorts. "Oh yeah I didn't get to that part, after the rituals we have _cakes and ale_ which is in basic terms a buffet and I decided to drop some changes on the people that _most_ were eager to accept."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Honestly? Destroying whatever my dad built while he thought he was being a leader and making up laws as he went along. It's undeniably out of spite but whatever roots he planted are getting demolished, along with a few other factors that didn't have to do with him but needed to be made. Like those 1800's robes of formality and the strict lifestyle they all live in. Did you know growing up I wasn't allowed to eat anything besides a specific bland and organic list of options?" Bonnie could see his body physically shake at the mention, "I never listened to it because there was no possible way I could part with food but some sorry folks are a stickler for things like rules and believe they actually have to live that way. So everyone for the most part was on board with that but once I started poking at the foundation and essence of the coven people were not as on board with me."

"Oh jeez, what did you do; let them run wild?"

"Kind of, actually," he said out of the corner of his mouth looking a tad unnerved, "I was aiming for liberation and I would say I succeeded in that mission but the backlash may result in me losing half of the members."

"Kai…"

"I find it pretty amusing myself. See I started out with giving them more freedom to practice their skills where they can learn to harness it better so instead of only being able to talk about magic in our super secluded club I gave them the option to be able to break off into smaller circles with other people in the family who aren't just in the main clique. For me I always had Josette since that was my source and being one-on-one educating ourselves on a topic like that is much more effective than our sporadic group meetings. And then the thing people weren't too keen on was nixing one of the founding rules stating once you join the coven you're in it until you die."

"You want to make it so anyone can leave whenever they want?"

"Yeah it'll open up space for the ones who want to acquire a better knowledge of wizardry and weed out the others who don't want to be there or need a slight shove out of the circle."

"Huh," Bonnie uttered out loud, her mind not capable of being more blown away at the total contrast of Kai's actions against every fear and theoretical situation that had been lined up against him.

Joshua was able to convince the entire coven that if his son escaped he would release pandemonium on all of them and eradicate the Gemini-line once and for all, and she could envision the coven's astonishment when Kai battled his way back to do the exact _opposite_. Instead of making them all suffer over what happened to him years ago he's giving them the choice of gaining their independence back and breaking free with a clean slate to live whatever life they want.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Kai murmured in a voice getting progressively more husky with exhaustion the longer they talked and squeezed her thigh, Bonnie feeling a flush of unwelcome nerves thinking of physically saying her appreciative thoughts about him out loud.

"Just that you might not be the worst leader of the Gemini Coven like everyone anticipated. You actually – you're – I'm surprised," Bonnie jumbled out quickly not sure what words she was originally trying to get out and curled into a tighter ball of exhaustion, putting her palm to her face in irritation and making a miffed noise.

"That I didn't burn the house down with everyone in it before I left?"

"No _,_ " she puffed out pulling her hand from her face and staring into Kai's eyes so he knew she was serious but could see the playfulness reflected back in his, "I think I know you a little better than that. It's just that… I don't know, you actually thought this out and had a plan that out of all things ends up benefiting people and giving them a right to make their own choices to have a life for themselves."

"Let's call it, ' _giving the gift I never received,"_ Kai chuckled sleepily and Bonnie's bottom lip plumped out as her eyebrows drew in at the casual remark that hit her sharply. "I'm curious to test out this experiment and see if they – um… if it makes a difference."

Looking up his chest to under his chin Kai's face was towards the ceiling and she couldn't tell if his eyes were closed, lifting her head off of his stomach to get a better angle and Kai's eyes popped open trailing down to her.

"Sorry, come again?"

"Nothing, just wondering how it will all turn out."

"I'm pretty intrigued too, but that's not what you were going to say."

"It was – I'm just tired."

"And now you're _omitting_ the _truth_?" she asked in mock-appall bringing her right hand in front of her lips, Bonnie's overtired state making her a bit loopy and he played along crinkling his nose. "It must be some secret."

"It's not."

"Then you can tell me," she pepped leaning forward so her chin was near his chest and whispered, "I'm pretty good at keeping things confidential."

"Yeah you don't need to convince me of that," he smirked raising an eyebrow and she stayed with her chin hovering over his shirt not backing down until Kai scoffed out a laugh, "why is it you never tell me anything and yet you're so willing to pry information out of me? Okay Nancy Drew, _fine_ ; in the back of my mind there may be speculations revolving around if my way of leading – opposed to my father's version of uncompromising brutality and enforced allegiance – will... change things. Within the coven, and during their everyday lives; similar to you in knowing what you are but also _who_ you are from having that balance of an outside world to hold onto. I want the younger generation to have the chance to turn out better than the rest of us."

"Do you have someone specific in mind? Maybe I know them," Bonnie pondered dropping her chin to his chest and tilting it to the side. Kai's heavy lids kept his eyes open only a fraction but she could still the dark undercurrent clouding them and crossing his features, the look one Bonnie's never seen on him before but one that's permanent on every vampire she's come across; abhorrence. The flare of loathing and disgust snuck up on Bonnie like a physical blow knocking the wind out of her, knowing with certitude that no one loves themselves as much as Kai does but his new subconscious doesn't seem to be letting him escape his past since it shaped who he is today. Brushing her nails down the inside of his outstretched arm resting on her leg Bonnie's hand continued over his shoulder and down his chest tucking them under her bottom lip. "Well I don't think you're so bad, but that's just my opinion."

Kai blinked, then again with effort from his sleep haze and it was as if she splashed water on his face clearing it of every dark and dreary manner and closed his eyes humming deeply in merriment bringing his arm up to cage her into him. "Only one that matters."

The way Kai said the comment – like it was common knowledge and not a come-on or ploy to make her feel a certain way for him – was causing her body to react severely; her chest tightening to the point of getting too difficult to breathe and brain flooding her system with an overload of affection. Having an internal war with her hormones and voice of reason Bonnie thought she had won when she sat up away from him but was blindsided when she heard her own voice speaking.

"Ready for bed?"

Kai's smile was plastered across his face before he could open his eyes and brought his legs down from above her head sitting up and looking at her through a hooded gaze. "Does that mean I can sleep with you? No wait," he cracked up, "that didn't come out right; I can sleep _in here_ with you."

" _Deviant_ ," Bonnie teased and he leaned forward tackling her backwards into the pillows sending her flailing and letting out a squeal when his fingers hit a ticklish spot on her side.

A wolfish grin appeared as Kai dove back in sliding his hands under her shirt and dancing across her skin as the laughter rolled on until her ribs hurt and tears clouded her vision. Breathing out harshly to catch her breath through the fit of giggles Bonnie looked up to Kai towering over her and trailed down to her hands around his forearms and his hidden under the fabric.

"How could I have forgotten you were ticklish?"

"How did you know I was?"

"From back when you tried seeing if _I was_ to pull me out of my mood," Kai smiled and her lips curved up slightly rubbing her hands over his arms, "it worked, by the way."

"Making your mood swings better and worse seems to be a specialty of mine."

"You are right about that," he agreed leaning over to turn off the lamp and Bonnie was momentarily blinded as Kai shifted off the bed and the sound of his zipper sent a jolt of hyperawareness through her like a chill in her bones, shivering in response.

Taking a moment to pray that he kept on his shirt Bonnie pulled the top of the covers out from under her butt and slid underneath cuddling into the pillow and flopping to the left towards Kai. The mattress dipped again and then there was body heat whirling in front of her as two arms wrapped around her waist pulling in tight and her hand immediately made contact with skin. Wiggling around in Kai's hold his right slid under Bonnie's shirt going up her spine, nuzzling closer as his facial hair scratched against her cheek and leaned back pulling her with him until his elbow wasn't awkwardly underneath her ribcage and her front was against the right half of his with her cheek on his shoulder. Making a noise of relaxation in the back of his throat Bonnie closed her eyes and bent her knee dragging her cold foot down the inside of Kai's warm leg, not able to resist the temptation of gliding her palm from his right pectoral down the center of his stomach near her shirt to his bellybutton and feeling the rippling muscles tighten from the touch. Keeping her hand in place Bonnie knew it was a blessing in disguise that Kai turned off the lights before losing his shirt because if how he looked was anything like what she was getting a quick feel of now, there would be no sleeping tonight.

"Your body," she let slip before her dreary mind could catch up and drifted her hand back up the center wrapping her index finger around the chain, "feels so different."

"How so?" Kai said in a gruff voice but could hear the smile and her delirious _semi-asleep_ state was causing her to spew out ramblings with no filter.

"Bigger, there's so much more of you – and you're all biceps and abs and smoldering looks; it's a lot to process."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It isn't a bad thing," she murmured and wanted to verbally scoff at the connection that seems to be flowing from a forming thought straight to her vocal cords.

"Which version do you like better?"

"I can't answer that – I don't even know what I'm working with here, and I have a slightly more biased opinion over the kid from the prison world."

"He's still here," Kai reassured bringing his left hand up to the back of her head and massaging her skull gently with his fingertips. The soothing gesture molded her body into his and Bonnie moved her left arm up involuntarily pulling her face inches from his sliding her arm under the pillow and resting her head, turning him a fraction and pressing herself flat against him. The movement and accidental caressing down his chest had Kai puff out a breath against Bonnie's face and her insides sparked with a fiery blaze wanting more, biting down on her bottom lip so hard the rest of her body was beginning to tense up in the same way. Kai breathed out a long exhale through his nose and his eyes drifted open sleepily smiling at what she had to assume was the extreme closeness in proximity she had gotten them into and glanced down at their chests, running his right hand over the fabric across her shoulders. "Did I already mention how much I am liking you in my shirt?"

"No," Bonnie gleamed drowsily and he made a dangerously sensual sound in the back of his throat, the gravel from his fatigue testing every ounce of willpower and strength she possesses.

"It's my new favorite outfit."

"You have a favorite?"

"I have many," he stated as a matter of fact bringing a light bubbling noise out of her lips as her fingers wandered over his neck, across the space of chest between them and down his bicep; the gentle strokes seeming to lull Kai into a state of peacefulness as every newly acquired feature dissipated to a blank slate. Feeling his fingers brush her back every so often showing a part of him was still awake Bonnie yawned bringing her forehead a centimeter away from his and faded away.

xx

Bonnie felt Kai's weight crushing her before she could open her eyes, popping one open and seeing she was almost completely on her back with Kai leaning into her side and his face in the crook of her neck. This smothering intimacy between them was something Bonnie hasn't had much experience to prior - Jeremy always piling on the compliments and endearments, but where he expressed himself with words Kai was physical wanting her to see whatever he's feeling and ignoring every obstacle in his way. Counting off her options to roll him over while staying asleep, Bonnie slid her hand down Kai's arm wrapped around her back and freed herself using the momentum of swinging his arm to turn him on his back and leaned up seeing if he stirred. Looking over his face she glanced down starting to move away and stopped herself, her line of view making a bee-line to his chest and rousing a sexual appetite that was untamed in her freshly active mind.

Bonnie had never been one to judge off appearances or let them have an impact in her overall impression of a person, but this was one of the rare occasions where she got to see the before and after of a person physically while simultaneously seeing the change within them. For those four days after the merge Bonnie couldn't block out the white noise of not only wondering where Kai was and what he was up to, but also _how_ he was doing and the pounding in her head never lessened until she saw him at the church. The knowledge that he survived the ceremony eased her somewhat but after she was introduced to post-merge, thoughts started to rise rapidly hypothesizing what specifically Kai endured during their days apart that brought out this metamorphosis.

The sight in front of her seeming too enticing Bonnie trailed her fingers over his abdomen and was taken aback by how defined his muscles were even while he was lying down, his bicep bulky beneath her from being bent under the pillow also drawing her in. Keeping her palm light against his skin so she didn't wake him it continued traveling up his neck and brushed the side of his jaw over what Bonnie considers to be one of his more distinctive dissimilarities. The sizeable contrast unmistakably aged him a few years but the facial hair seemed to make just as much of a difference bringing Kai from a fresh faced boy into someone rugged and virile.

Kai's head was tilted to the side towards her and Bonnie's hand drifted back down sliding over the pendant on his chest as a blip from their conversation last night broke loose of Kai talking about the change within the coven. More so than that – the hope he has that the kids growing up in their world will turn out better than he did. Bonnie would be one of the first in line to tear Kai down against what he has done to his family, to her, and to himself throughout the years, but she is also aware of the fact that he was raised in a world unlike anyone else's where twin-sacrifices and strict ancient witchcraft were customary; being an actual sociopath during the Parker mayhem one of the most significant factors in the equation.

Kai brought up that he wanted an easier life inside _and_ outside of the coven and Bonnie couldn't stop the rush of images springing forward from what she witnessed during his trip down memory lane; from the psychological and somatic torment his father put him through to become ' _a better witch_ ', to the potential authentic relationship Kai imploded from keeping part of his life concealed and tucked away out of sight from anyone who tried to get close. Bonnie watched over as the Gemini Coven took over Kai's life unable to pull himself away from the obsession until ultimately it was what destroyed him. Idly helpless to what she was discovering Bonnie saw the lifelong struggle and spiral into the menacing brute she met that day in the prison world, but the only constant that never wavered through the slideshow of memories was the leader of the pack; Kai's father. Joshua Parker displayed bouts of savagery long before his son was deemed a threat to society – aiming to break a frightened teenage boy through night terrors to justify his fears, and even after decades is still enacting the same ploy of striking terror instead of understanding when he is up against something he can't defeat.

Over the months of absorbing every piece of information Kai gave her about his family and childhood Bonnie has gotten a strong intuition that because of what his father had a hand in morphing him into, then somehow that entails that he could inevitably turn into some form of Joshua. Granted they both have that Parker blood in their veins with a similar tactic of ferocity when they're confronting their enemies but Bonnie has seen firsthand the radical differentiation when it comes to their state of mind and psyche. Kai was flawed in his actions but stitched together with good intentions centering on his future, while Mr. Parker was a man who saw only one way of life and did not tolerate anything less than what he expected. When it came down to black and white one of the Parker men was evil while the other was damaged, and anyone that had a conversation with the both of them would be able to decipher the dividing line.

"You're so sweet and demonstrative when you think I'm sleeping," rumbled hoarsely out of Kai's lips and Bonnie's hand stopped its mindless caressing over his skin, eyes darting up to his closed lids.

"How long have you been awake?"

"So long," he muttered and she could feel his ab muscles tightening from laughter, "you don't think I can feel when you're touching me?"

"And when you say, ' _when I think you're sleeping'_ … does that mean this isn't the first time?"

"Undoubtedly." Bonnie breathed in sharply as her body retreated back instinctively but Kai's arm beneath her lifted and drew her back in to the same position thudding against his chest. "That's why I never told you."

"Why?"

"You'd stop and flee the scene. So I just _pretended_ I was still unconsciously unaware that you like to feel me up in the morning and both of us got to continue on with our little secrets. Why don't I get that action any other time?"

"Maybe your incessant chatter gets in the way," Bonnie shrugged, "then there's always the risk of something escalating when that lewd mind is up and running. Besides I haven't done it _that_ much, a couple of times."

"Mhm, right," Kai rasped in an undertone like he knew better and Bonnie could feel her cheeks flushing with heat igniting the rest of her body and shooting out her fingers and toes. "Just know if you stop I'm not going to be happy."

The command coated in devotion brought a small smile across Bonnie's face and slid her fingers up the side of his ribs and over his chest pausing at his necklace and looked up to his still closed eyes before falling back on the pendant, an ache being triggered deep inside and rushed through her train of thought before she lost the courage.

"So this is going to sound really random but I was thinking about what you said last night about the coven becoming something better and not wanting to be the same leader as the one before, and I just wanted you to know from someone who has _personally_ been around both people… I don't see the resemblance."

Kai's lids fluttered open and turned staring down at her with complete clarity, switching from one pupil to the other and leaned forward rolling her onto her back laying between her thighs and she could feel him stiff from just waking up as his fists near her head held him up a foot in front of her face. Bonnie's heartbeat raced in her ears as her line of view dropped to Kai licking his bottom lip by pulling it into his mouth and moved his right hand over to cup the side of her neck, leaning in at such an agonized pace Bonnie had to fight the inclination to thrust upward or pull him into her. Letting out a jagged sound when Kai's lips were a hair away from hers the initial connection sent an electric charge coursing through her veins causing the dresser drawers to shake noisily and lifted her knees pressing them into his sides giving them a more gratifying position. Instead of taking the lead and grinding into her Kai stayed with his gentler approach, tilting his head to deepen the kiss and running his thumb across her jaw. The prickliness of his scruff against Bonnie's sensitive skin was something she hadn't experienced with any of the boys she's kissed, the bravado instigating a carnal desire that was making her skin so hot she was certain it burned to the touch.

Dragging her hands down the middle of his stomach with the goal to entice, Bonnie could feel the deep rumble in Kai's chest the same time his grip tautened around the side of her neck but the zealous craving didn't make it to his lips. The soft brushes intensified every time his tongue slid over hers but it was simmering with a tenderness that made Bonnie feel like she was becoming unhinged; her core aching and limbs restless from restraining herself not to tackle Kai backwards and breathed out a noise of desire against his lips, the bulb in the lamp blowing out on the bedside table. Not breaking contact Kai lifted his other hand and Bonnie opened her eyes turning right towards the lamp where shards of the bulb hovered in the air looking like he had paused the scene mid-explosion, kissing the corner of her mouth and cheek and with a mindless wave of his hand the bulb was back in the lamp working properly.

"Ha!" Bonnie exclaimed semi-impressed, "you made light, and you didn't even look."

"I've recently perfected that spell," Kai professed between soft grazes over her skin, "after the merge I may have broken some things."

"Like what?"

" _Everything_ ; yeah a part of me was terrified you were going to come home in the middle of me out of it and fry my brain because it was pretty bad."

"I haven't even noticed anything out of place," Bonnie commented baffled, running through the house in her mind over the last week and not having a single thing stick out to her other than it seemed freshly cleaned.

"That's because nothing _is_ out of place, I lived here for a summer too remember? Sheila didn't redecorate too often."

"I still can't get over that you knew my Gram's," Bonnie remarked running her hands over his back and around his neck, "I wish she told me about this part of my life earlier. She would have opened up about more and maybe even told me the story of the troubled teenager she took in many years ago."

"And the other story of how she helped trap said troubled young adult almost a decade later," Kai sniggered, "that would have been a lot to take in when you're getting newly acquainted in the wizarding world."

"Why do you think she did it? I've gone back and forth since the day I found out a Bennett spell was the one that locked you in there. I've deliberated that she was brainwashed by your dad like everyone else and thought you were dangerous or that she had no choice in the matter of imprisoning a person in an alternate universe… but my Gram's knew you. _Liked you_ – brought you into her home and made it seem like she could keep you safe; I can't fathom the woman I knew turning her back on someone like that."

Bonnie's gaze was locked on his and could feel her features more tense than usual that Kai picked up on it as well, his lips curving in one corner and swept his thumb between her eyebrows smoothing out the worry lines she had to have been forming by now.

"Your Grandmother did protect me; my dad's intentions was to kill me – _not incarcerate me_ – and yet somehow I ended up in an eternal spring of 1994 with a Bennett witch's spell to set me free. Admittedly I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as if it was a Parker spell there would have been a prison break within the week, but I think Sheila did it so she would have full control over what happened. I'm sure you now know better than anyone how much I despised being there but against the options I was faced with it did beat one or two of the alternatives. Just between you and me – I think the Bennett women have a soft spot for me."

"You do seem to get under our skin and make a nice little home in our brains," Bonnie agreed giggling when Kai nibbled his way across her jaw scratching her cheek with his, "I guess we have a weakness for those ' _scary on the outside, good on the inside'_ types."

"Is that true?" Kai lifted his face away from hers leaning in close, "you think there's good in me?"

"Is that really a question?" Bonnie chortled out loud thinking he was joking and smile dimmed when his countenance didn't waver, her eyebrows crinkling and rubbed her fingers along the side of his jaw. "I know there's good in you Kai, I've seen it. It was there every time you were overprotective of Jo, or when you let yourself forget about everything and be with Gabby and your friends, and… more times than I'd openly admit with me. I shouldn't have to explain this to you; your narcissism should answer that question without missing a beat."

"Oh I know I'm charming, witty, intelligent," Kai said tilting his head to each side ticking off his attributes making her eyes roll back, "and the list just keeps going, but ' _good'_ isn't really a personality trait so I've never been able to place it."

"Well at the risk of your head getting so inflated you float up to ceiling, you can add that one onto the list too."

"You're saying such nice things to me this morning," Kai hummed through a sleepy grin that sobered as a thought crossed his mind, "wait this happened before; you have to stick by my side today so I don't get hit by lightning or a plane or something."

"A plane?"

" _Anything_ is possible."

"Make it sound like I've never been friendly to you," Bonnie scoffed making his grin spread.

"The last time we had a conversation similar to this it ended with Damon crushing my heart – which is kind of comical if you think about it. And then there was my favorite day since we've been back playing Clue followed by my dad grabbing you and not seeing you for days. I'm just feeling a little… cautious."

"Because I said something nice to you?" Bonnie asked swatting at his shoulder with a loud smack.

" _Yes_ – okay? Sometimes it's a little worrisome when you're just outwardly pleasant because then I start to think a hurricane is coming my way to even it out - _which is not always the case,_ but it has come about before. You should take it as a compliment, really; I'm so ecstatic when things are going great between us that I assume something dreadful is going to happen to level me back out."

"We have such varying definitions of what a compliment is."

"Stop it, you're already getting mad at me and proving my point," Kai droned nuzzling into her and sliding his hands under Bonnie's shirt and up her ribs setting off her increase in blood pressure. "Can we do something today? We haven't done anything since we've been back."

"We can't, I need to figure out how to fix Caroline then see if she can do the same to Stefan."

"Back at it again, saving the day," he mused and Bonnie's eyes narrowed.

"I can help."

"I don't doubt it," Kai agreed but there was something in the way he ended the sentence, like he wanted to say more.

"But?"

"Nothing, I just seem to recall you saying you didn't want to be in the middle of these things anymore."

"I don't, but this is Care _and_ Stefan and aside from you I'm the only witch in town that can potentially fix and restore everything to how it once was."

"Okay," Kai uttered into her collarbone and her nose flared knowing there was more he wasn't saying, forcing Kai's head up by the chin with a look of being taken off guard before relaxing into a coy and velvety grin. "You won't be getting an argument out of me; I've already decided I'm going to stay on your good side today."

"And why is that, again?"

"Superstition," he shrugged gliding his fingers back down her sides making Bonnie gasp quietly at the familiar electric charge across her skin, "you sure you don't feel like doing anything else?"

"Nothings coming to mind," she said through clenched teeth in the most casual manner she could manage, "but I'll let you know if something more appealing arises."

"Oh will you?" Kai wondered as his eyes glinted with irrepressible impishness; pushing his hands beneath her and lifting her into a roll of his hips prompting her limbs to curl into his striving not to let any noises slip through. "Okay, be sure to let me know next time you need it."

"Next time _I need it_?" Bonnie repeated gawking at him out of the corner of one eye.

" _You know you need it,_ " he winked brushing his lips over hers and leaned sideways off the bed, looking daringly alluring in his black boxer briefs and chain hanging in the middle of his chest with ruffled hair to top it off. "I'm going to check out the breakfast options."

Shamelessly watching him leave the room Bonnie reached for the closest Grimoire to her right on the bedside table and dove in scanning through page after page, reading over spells and rules she knew by heart to learning other things for the first time. Kai was in and out of the room a handful of times; bringing in a bowl of brown sugar oatmeal with syrup and toast, coming in to complain on more than one occasion and appearing fully dressed in boots, black jeans, a tight navy blue t-shirt, a leather jacket she's seen on him before and a black beanie; laying across her legs and sighing out a sound of dreariness.

"I'm so _bored_ Bon, and you've been at this for hours."

"I've read so much I'm not even sure if I can distinguish the different words."

"Then it's settled," he pepped plucking the book out from her hands ignoring her effort to take it back, "you're in your head and looking at things too closely. So we got out for a couple hours and come back with a clearer mindset to hunker down, and maybe get some food and decorations on the way back."

"Decorations?"

"And a Christmas tree, I mean if we're already out," Kai beamed looking over to her and sitting up over her legs at the edge of the bed, "it's already a week away, and you have no idea how long I have been waiting to get into the holidays again with somebody."

"I do know, actually, but that's kind of sweet; I didn't know you liked going all out on that sort of stuff."

"What – holidays? Are you referring to the decorations, and festiveness, and revolving all of my time around it? I'm a little let down you didn't pick up on that, I love it. Halloween is my favorite; I know, _shocker_ but Christmas is still up there."

"I love them too, although with all of the chaos that's happened over the last couple of years I haven't gotten to enjoy them like I used to."

"Well now you're home again with a shiny new outlook that we should reap the benefits from, and what better of an occasion?" Bonnie bit the side of her cheek mulling over his compelling argument, "You're going to be on red-alert with the phone two feet from your hand in your pocket anyway in case the Scooby Gang has any new information, but as of right now they're both still in the wind."

"Which is why I need to figure this out; I was in the room both times when Caroline shut off her humanity and forced Stefan to do the same and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I should have been able to stop her…" Bonnie remarked looking away at the floorboards feeling the same icy blanket of self-reproach.

"I was there both of those times too, and not to toot my own horn but I've been at this longer than you and a _touch_ stronger thanks to my leader status. And don't forget about your other gal pal Elena with her vampire-traits never being put to use, she's been really beneficial to have around. Tell you what, how about we get a locator spell on the runaway vamps to answer at least one question."

"Great idea," Bonnie exclaimed irritated with herself for not coming to that conclusion earlier and tucked her legs in to move them around Kai, hopping off the bed and zipping into the living room finding a World Atlas on the bookshelf behind the couch. Flipping open to the page showing the details of Virginia she took the book with her to the kitchen and grabbed the closest knife to her beside the sink, ready to slice her finger before Kai snatched it out of her hand. "Hey-"

"Easy there, _Michael Meyers_ I'm sure we have something that won't result in you cutting off your finger," he vocalized putting the knife back on the counter and opened a drawer pulling out a small but razor sharp knife and grabbed her hand, pressing the tip of it with minimal force puncturing a small cut on her index finger.

Spreading the open Atlas across the table Bonnie's blood dripped into the center and closed her eyes, muttering the spell she's used so much it's locked tight in her memory.

 _Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Saguines, Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous_

Cracking one eyelid the drop of blood stayed in the same spot, repeating the spell again and letting out a frustrated sound when nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?"

"Maybe they aren't still in Virginia." Grumbling in response Bonnie found the page of the fifty states and did the process all over again becoming twice as vexed when she was hit with the same results. Battling against the overwhelming urges to cry and throw the book across the room, Kai leaned in behind her and held the corner breezing through the pages and stopped on one displaying the continents. "Try again."

Exhaling unevenly through her nose Bonnie held her finger over the page and let out the words under her breath, feeling more disheartened now than five minutes prior when she assumed her friends were still in town. The drop of blood started to move at a snail's pace to the right, away from North America and across the Atlantic Ocean stopping at the first piece of land in Europe.

"They're in _Europe?_ "

"France, to be exact," he specified leaning in closer from behind to get a better look. "Oh, she so seems the type that's always wanted to go to Paris and gaze out from the Eiffel Tower with her main squeeze; good on her for taking advantage and crossing that off the bucket list."

"Paris," Bonnie repeated feeling deflated in her plan to track them down today and strike before anything could escalate.

"That's a pretty high-profile place to be having a massacre, maybe they too were feeling festive and wanted to see the city up in lights; your little town is cute and all but big extravagant places go all out during festivals _especially_ the one dedicated to light-shows on buildings and objects. Whatever they're up to I'm sure it's not something too dire, and I have a pretty fair judgment call being a reformed sociopath and all."

Bonnie turned her face towards his behind her right shoulder with her mouth open ready to make a comment over the _reformed_ part when she stopped, Kai's clear eyes and soft smile hidden against the fabric of her shirt giving him a deceptively innocent appearance and making her feel like he was looking straight through her. Shuddering in response to something reflected back in his irises Bonnie looked to the floor leaning in a fraction towards Kai making their foreheads touch before turning and letting her line of view run over his body landing back on his face.

"So what did you have in mind for today?"

Kai's manner brightened instantly and lost ten years of age as he bopped from one foot to the other, "just a couple of ideas to make our day _spectacular!_ There's picking out a tree, and buying some essential decorations that you won't find in the boxes of your Gram's stuff upstairs… like working lights. And then there's the whole conquest of setting everything up but this house will look unbelievable afterwards; what do you say?"

Bonnie hummed out loud in deliberation looking over his contagiously eager mentality wrapped up in a statuesque package and checked over her shoulder to the table where the map stared back at her, pivoting back and letting a demure smile pass her lips.

"It looks like we're in for a long day."


	19. Chapter 19

"Yes, they're in Europe," Bonnie said for the third or fourth time over the phone, trailing her fingers over the items in the aisle as she wandered in front of the full cart. "Not yet, but I'm trying. …That's great Damon; anytime you want to chime in with something useful you'll have my full attention, but there's not much I can do from over here. Call me if you hear anything."

"Has Damon taken to blaming you for this yet?" Kai wondered and Bonnie snapped her head back, "I mean that is his go-to response, right? At least that's what always seemed to occur in 1994."

"Damon doesn't blame me for things, he assumes I can be the one to fix whatever it is and usually he's right."

"Well yeah you're a Bennett, but does that necessarily make you the obligatory scapegoat?"

"What did you say?"

"You know, the one everyone goes to when they need you and rely on you to get them out of their pickle - even if it ends up with you feeling responsible over it or throwing out some self-sacrificing hoodoo. Does that not sound familiar? _I_ don't think that way obviously but I can't speak for your other companions."

"Really, because you seem to be doing it just fine right now. What is your problem? You've been pissy almost the entire time we've been here, this was _your_ idea remember?" Bonnie sizzled stopping at the end of an aisle in front of the cart making Kai stop short and he rested his forearms across the handle.

"Yes, it was my idea to get you out of the house and divert your attention away from your worrying to something a little more pleasurable but you are sucking the fun out of it. And it's not the phone calls, or that your mind isn't even here, _it's the things you're saying._ Have you realized we've been roaming around Target for over two hours and you've talked about nothing but all of the ways you're willing to put yourself endanger to _possibly_ flip your friends emotions back on? After one of them just doused you in liquor and taunted you with a lighter in front of your face as a warning to back off; why would I have a problem?"

"I really don't know, seeing how it's _my_ problem, having to do with my friends, and pretty much all revolves around my decisions."

Kai gripped the forearm his hand was resting on and felt his blood-pressure boiling to a high-ranking level he used to spend most of his time in and struggled against every urge in his bones not to react in his usual manner of outrage. Bonnie had gone down the list from not-so-tragic conclusions to throwing her life on the line with reckless abandon and it was affecting Kai in a startling way; feeling similar to the times people have discussed putting his own life at risk, and the instinct of preservation overcame him.

"Bonnie if I died, would you care?" Kai questioned in a calm voice wiping Bonnie's peeved expression to one of perplexity.

"What…"

"Would you?"

"What's your point?"

"Would you ca-"

"Of course I would care Kai, but I don't see them coming after you in any of these scenarios so I think you'll make it."

"And when I was going through _my_ issues with _my_ father in the prison world I seem to recall you stepping in and getting involved when it also had nothing to do with you."

"Sorry for not letting him kill you in front of me."

"And I'm sorry in advance for not letting you kill yourself, because you aren't doing any of the options you've thrown out so far."

"I can _also_ think for myself."

"Listen Bon, I get it – you're independent, welcome to the club. But if you think you're the only one that cares about what happens to the other then you haven't been paying any attention because I'm telling you there's no way you're going to jeopardize your life for theirs. You'll have to get through me, and I'm stronger."

"That's cute, thinking your new title makes you more powerful than me," Bonnie snorted.

"I am when it comes to this," Kai said with conviction, "and since you don't seem to take my word I'm going to keep saying it until you believe me; I don't want anything to happen to you. Therefore, I'm not going to let it, and that includes against your own martyr-y hypocritical antics that you love to pull."

"How you manage to insult me while trying to convince me you give a damn is beyond me."

"You know I do, and that's just my usual heaping of sass that no alien emotion can subdue; I take great joy in this character trait. So get those resurrection spells and suicide missions out of your head, the sooner your mind's clear the easier it'll be for us to come up with a new plan," Kai ordered and Bonnie turned out of sight coming back with a giant light-up snowman sticking it under the bottom as they moved onto the next Christmas aisle. "Here's a wacky thought, how about fighting fire with fire and getting the vampires to do something sufficient? Maybe a little tough love and torture to get the juices flowing."

"That still is one of our options; they've been doing the same thing we have, brainstorming all night hoping to come up with something solid to get them back."

"And is it vital that you have to do that? Getting them back to being emotional messes that is; sure I wasn't fond of how the night ended but prior to that you admitted you didn't mind the way Caroline was, and I'm sure you could still strike up a deal that benefits you both."

"You're neglecting one major factor; she's now in another country with a ripper who will show her all the sinister ways of vampirism and convert her over to a place I wouldn't be able to get her back from. Care has loved Stefan for years and always been there for him and he is all manipulation when he's like this; he'll ruin her, and then she'll be truly lost. We've been taking care of each other since we were kids, Kai – I need to protect her."

"Then we'll come up with something," Kai agreed, seeing the same reserve in her manner that he knew he displayed when it came to his twin against their dad. "But you're not the only witch in town, let me help."

Bonnie eyes fluttered up to his and noticed a small smile starting to spread across her lips softening her features before turning her face away and looking at more items on the shelves, forcing a wide grin to appear on his face. Following close behind Kai made it a habit over the next hour to poke fun at and prank Bonnie whenever a moment arose – which in a store like Target is _around every corner_ – and her light laughter and playful retorts wiped his simmering mood clean, reminding him that he wanted to do the same thing for her. Rolling up to the registers they had successfully managed to fill two carts full of Christmas festivities and Kai felt like he was getting a slight buzz of exhilaration.

"I can't believe all of the stuff we have," Bonnie groaned in disbelief, "I've never picked out so much stuff before in my life. I just saw one thing and it led to another and before you know it there's a family of lit-up reindeers in my cart! We have to put some of this stuff back."

"You would separate the reindeers from its _family_?" Kai asked in mock-horror putting his hand to his chest, "that is cold-blooded Bon, and that's coming from me."

"Okay fine, the reindeers can live happily together," she played along, and scooped up another large box, "but this? I mean how many sets of lights are in this thing?"

"Fifty, a hundred," Kai guessed, "and those are just for outside there's more hidden in the bottom of your cart somewhere, mine is pretty much stocked full of wreaths and garland."

"Kai we can't afford all of this, and by ' _we'_ I mean I don't have any money to spend so we need to cut this down by about half."

Hearing the cart swivel behind him to move out of line Kai reached back and held it in place, turning with an endearing smile he would use to explain something to a mentally-deficient first grader.

"You're not paying for any of this, truth be told I'm barely paying for any of this so just… deep breath. Think happy cheery Christmas tunes and assist me in getting all of this on the belt."

"Whose money is it then?" Bonnie questioned and the cashier glanced at both of them while ringing out the items.

"Oh it's all mine, I just recently came into it without having to put much work into it is all," he winked and she glared back, swiping his freshly created card reading $758.42 on the screen and over to Bonnie's mouth agape.

"That's… how?"

"The garland," he concluded before wheeling one towards the exit, "I got the good ones with the lights already in them so they were $25 and I got about a dozen. They get you on the wreaths too."

"That still leaves about half of your total solely to lights and lit-up decorations."

"Don't forget all the ornaments and things to put on the tree. I'd say it is money well spent."

"And I'd say you're just a little nuts," she laughed wheeling her cart out behind him and headed for the car.

"As long as it's only a little."

"So just one quick question revolving around the whole cart-fulls of items and a not so large vehicle, how are we getting all of this home?"

Kai's light laughter made her expression change, like she was missing out on the joke and he held up his hands defensively. Feeling the surge of amusement subsiding Kai closed his eyes and moved his palms to hover over the two shopping carts, muttering a sentence in Latin and opened them to everything already gone.

"You really think I would put all of that in this pristine new ride? I could scratch the paint trying to lug everything in and out of the backseat."

"Oh no, what a catastrophe," Bonnie drawled opening the passenger door and disappearing from sight as he got in and started the engine.

"And now for the tree!"

Kai weaved in and out of traffic with ease, his futuristic vehicle looking out of place even in this decade with the same styles of cars and SUV's and matching dull colors. Pulling up to the first place they came across, Kai's smile brightened seeing the decked out scenery of lights, fake snow, and a table with cups and treats at the entrance. Practically jumping out of his seat and skipping to the other side of the car Kai pulled Bonnie's door the rest of the way open and held his hand out for her to take, giving him the same side-eyed expression she's done every time before and begrudgingly placed hers in his. Following her to the entrance Kai looked over the food options scooping a handful of pastries onto a little plate and couldn't decide between the hot apple cider or hot chocolate so he went for both, drinking the cider so quickly it burned down his esophagus and grabbed the other cup.

"You're unbelievable," Bonnie cracked up and let out a sound even louder at his crinkled eyebrows and pained expression. "Burn your tongue?"

"Tongue, throat, I'm pretty sure it's scorching through my stomach right now," he admitted and let out a long breath through his "o" shaped mouth, joining in on Bonnie's amusement to his suffering.

"You're not going to be able to drink that for a while, here I'll trade you." Bonnie grabbed the cup from his hand replacing it with her half-drank water bottle and took a sip of the hot chocolate, "mm that's so good, you're really missing out."

"Oh _I'm_ unbelievable?" he chuckled and took a sip of the water, the coolness refreshing his fiery insides instantly. "Come on let's find the best tree here."

Only fifteen minutes into their conquest and they were both positive they found the one; bulky and tall and all around perfect. After paying and declining the need for assistance getting the tree on the car, Kai dragged it all the way over and out of sight before he was able to work his magic sending it to Sheila's front yard.

"Ready to head back?"

"I'm starving, let's get lunch first."

"Yes," Bonnie moaned practically deflating into the passenger's seat, "food sounds so good. Where do you want to go?"

"Doesn't matter, where do you like?"

"There's this place me and Gram's always used to go to, they have the best chicken parmesan and _also_ like to get festive for the holidays."

"Then it's settled, tell me where I'm going."

Ten minutes later and they were walking through the front door to a cozy little Italian restaurant with hardwood everything and music playing. Putting his name down the hostess said it would only be a few minutes to get a table ready and they headed back outside waiting on the front steps. Kai lifted his face to the sky enjoying the chilly breeze that he hasn't had the pleasure of feeling in decades and looked down to Bonnie doing the same thing with a small smile across her lips. Without a second thought Kai cupped the side of her neck and leaned down sweeping his lips over hers, staying there for a beat before moving back a fraction into her glazed over eyes.

"What was that for?"

"I… don't know. I need a reason?" he laughed out once nervously and that same high-strung feeling started to make its way throughout the rest of his body. "Maybe I just like kissing you."

"Nobody said you could," Bonnie teased and his smile broadened leaning back and sliding his hand down her arm.

"I don't need permission."

"Bonnie?" sounded beside them and her smile evaporated pushing forcibly against Kai's chest making him stumble back a step with an audible ' _ooph_ '.

"Elena – hey, what are you doing here?"

"Just picking up some stuff, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Lunch," Kai responded turning to rest his elbows against the railing across from her, "is my favorite Salvatore with you?"

"Better, your favorite Gilbert," Jeremy vocalized walking up beside Elena, "didn't think I'd see you two out together."

"We're full of surprises."

"Are you heading out or just getting here?" he asked over Kai's shoulder to Bonnie.

"Just got here, but we aren't staying-"

"Excellent, we'll join you," Jeremy declared, walking around Elena and up the two steps, Kai pushing his elbows off the railing and standing tall as he walked past him into Bonnie's arms.

The sweet smile that curved at the corners of her mouth when she slid her arms around Jeremy's shoulders sent a jolt through his veins and clenched his fists, Bonnie seeming to sense his tension as her eyes opened and locked on his. Easing out of his groping Kai looked over their heads to the hostess signaling him inside and he walked past everyone, filling in the gentleman on their new seating arrangement and followed him to the table trying to shake off whatever this kid seems to bring out of him every time they're in a room together. Kai was the first person to sit and little Gilbert was right behind him choosing the seat diagonally to his right and both looked up to Bonnie hovering in place. Jeremy's smug expression kicked up a notch and Kai kept his face impassive, glancing up left to her anxiously biting the inside of her cheek and she dashed around the table sitting beside Kai in a flash, leaving Elena to sit across from him.

"So how has your day been so far?" Elena asked breaking the silence making Kai blink and zone into focus, realizing him and Jeremy were staring each other down.

"Productive, ran a few errands; you?"

"I've spent most of the night and day coming up with a pile of junk on ways to entrap and trick-slash-convince Stefan and Care to turn it back on."

"Final analysis?"

"I took to day drinking," Elena nodded and Kai puffed out a laugh.

A waitress made her way over and took their requests for drinks, giving them another minute to look over the menu.

"I'm sorry – why are you still here?" Jeremy spoke up drawing in Kai's complete attention.

"Jer-"Elena warned.

"You used Bonnie to get back, you won the merge – killed your brother – and got your power; so why aren't you back in Portland destroying your coven?"

"I could do that from right here if I really wanted to."

"There's no reason for you to be here," Jeremy argued leaning forward into the table and Kai's head turned, eyes wandering over to Bonnie, "why would you want to stay where you're not wanted?"

"Oh that has no effect over me," Kai dismissed with a wave of his hand, "you need to toughen up more, little Gilbert; you won't survive out there with that mentality."

"Oh yeah, you look real tough now to match how violently deranged you are on the inside."

"Does the facial hair really give all that away?" Kai leaned in closer asking in a quiet voice sliding his fingers across his jaw to his chin, "maybe that's what you're missing then."

Appearing beside Kai and Elena the waitress placed all the drinks accordingly and went around the table taking their orders before making her way to the back.

"Bonnie I know you felt responsible and that you had to help him when you first got back, but you don't need to keep up this act."

"I'm not acting, Jer," Bonnie sighed and looked up to him, "we're friends."

" _Friends…_ with him," he stated laced with revulsion making Kai's blood-pressure rise and slid his hands under the table to grip his knees; a long shot to control his instinctual reactions. "Why? Do you not remember-"

"Oh I can recall plenty, trust me, that's why I'm telling you this. I don't want you to freak out or panic every time you see us together – which might not be for long because he still has the whole Gemini thing to work out… but regardless, we are going to be hanging out."

Kai's tight hold loosened against his knees turning to Bonnie who looked like she could throw up or faint and a wave of gratification hit him hearing her say out loud that _something_ is happening between them, no matter how downplayed her explanation might be. Jeremy's vexed expression in his peripheral made Kai downright giddy and he had to talk himself down for the hundredth time not to spill the beans about what's really going on. Kai listened to Jeremy's sharp jabs in his direction and Bonnie stumbling over her words to get the point across without _actually_ telling him the one thing he needs to hear to finally get it. The waitress arrived after a few more minutes with their food and they ate in silence for the majority of the meal, Kai on more than one occasion grabbing her hand under the table or running his hand over her upper thigh until he was certain Bonnie was going to kick him with the intent of bruising.

"What are you guys doing after this?" Elena wondered while Kai handed off his card to the waitress. "Oh wait, I have cash on me."

Digging through her purse she tried stopping the woman but Kai shook his head for her to continue walking, "I'm not taking your money."

"No, but-"

" _Your_ money I'll take, on the other hand," Kai smiled brightly in Jeremy's direction, "but only for a tip."

Pulling out a twenty dollar bill Elena tried handing it off across the table but Kai leaned back instead and crossed his arms. Jeremy did the same and slammed the bill against the table causing Bonnie to jump in her seat.

"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked across the table and stood, waiting for Bonnie to follow which she did after a moment's hesitation.

"You don't like my brother, do you?" Elena asked as he watched them over her shoulder walk out the front door.

"About as much as he likes me."

"Is it because you're both fighting to get the same girl?"

Kai's line of view trailed down to meet her gaze noticing her poised smirk underneath and struggled not to let his cocky grin spread wide, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head a shade.

"He would have to be some form of competition first."

Grabbing the credit card and signing the slip Kai waited for Elena to get her stuff and followed her out the front door, scanning the area and spotting Bonnie near the car with Jeremy standing too close.

"Is that your car?"

"Isn't she a beauty?" Kai smiled knowing he'll never get over this high of content over his new ride, "I've wanted one similar to that since I was a kid."

"Didn't we all," Elena agreed going down the steps and towards the duo in close quarters, unaware of their presence until they were right up on them and Bonnie took a quick step back bumping into the door handle. "Wow this is even nicer up close."

"We'll go for a drive sometime, it might not be as fast as you but it's got to be close."

"We took it on the highway last night… this thing flies."

"Then that is a definite plan," Elena inferred and went in to hug Bonnie goodbye, Jeremy doing the same before resentfully walking back to their car.

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest as a breeze picked up and Kai unlocked the doors, watching her avoid looking in his direction and slipped inside with him close behind. Sticking the key in the ignition he checked his mirrors, seeing them pull out first and take a right out of the parking lot and looked over to Bonnie fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

"What's wrong?"

"This isn't going to turn into a thing – right? Are we going to get home and start arguing and ruin the fun little day we've had going? Because just tell me now so I can prepare myself to avoid it."

"Why, do you think I'm mad at you?"

"I wouldn't put it past you, but I was thinking more of the whole banter between you and Jer, and me getting tied into the middle of it."

"I don't want to fight with you today Bon," Kai said truthfully, reversing out of the parking spot and heading back towards Sheila's, "and the house is solely revolved around holiday cheer, so why don't we get out everything we have to say now and then the house will act as a safe-zone of sorts."

"Okay, I can handle that; what have you wanted to say?"

"Like there's just been this list of things I had planned out to say to you from that twenty minute meal," he scoffed out a ' _psh_ ' noise that she wasn't buying, "alright there is one thing… actually two."

"Here we go," Bonnie remarked rolling her eyes back and lip curved up on one side.

"One's a good thing! Or a pleased remark – whichever description makes the most sense. But I was going to appraise you for finally getting the words out that we're not mortal enemies anymore and have been hanging out. Sure you forgot the whole ' _with benefits_ ' thing but we'll get there; props to getting past the difficult part. Now the other thing I wanted to bring up not _quite_ in that shining light but still in the same wheelhouse of being about the exact same thing. Elena brought up that the reason me and her brother don't get along is because we're both fighting for the same girl – and that's what Jeremy thinks this is. To him you're still the ex-girlfriend that he's desperate to be with again since you found your way home and back into his clutches like some Disney fairytale. In his story he's Prince Charming, you're Snow White, and… well in that scenario I'd be the Evil Queen," Kai laughed out loud, "but hey it's his fantasy. My point is Jeremy still thinks there's a _fight_ left to have you – that I'm his rival, and doesn't realize he's already lost."

"Did you just refer to me as the prize?"

"Is that something you'd want to hear?" Kai inquired and her nose flare sufficed as an answer, "then no, that is not what I was implying. Although it does get the point across of us butting heads for your affection, seeing how only one will be with you."

"And you think that someone is you?"

"I know it is," he remarked flashing his smile and turned into the driveway, "now let's pop open some bottles and start getting festive."

-x—x—x—

"Kai we've been at this for _hours,_ can't we just magically put the rest of this stuff up?"

"Absolutely not _Scrooge_ , this is something we can manage to do the old fashioned way. Besides you know you're having fun."

"I'm also sweating and seeing double from all the colored lights I've sorted."

"You sure it's not that bottle of whiskey that's half gone on the table beside you?"

"First off, you drank just as much of that as I did – okay?" Bonnie tried to say in a serious tone but the playful gleam in Kai's eyes had her breaking character and scooped her glass off the table tilting it towards him grinning tipsily. "And secondly… you're not completely wrong. But you should be happy! I'm pretty sure I like you more when I drink, you are definitely funnier."

"I think your guard isn't up to drain all of the enjoyment out of it," he commented walking down the steps and wrapping lit up garland around the banister, still sporting the black beanie but lost the jacket. "Similar to when we first wake up – but you like me all the same. See how nice this can be when you aren't trying to sabotage it?"

"I don't do that," Bonnie grumbled more for herself to hear than him, "I'm just trying to take things slow and keep them under wraps, there's a difference."

"I've heard it both ways," he noted finishing off the steps with small red bows going up the side and Bonnie took a deep breath smiling to herself thinking back to when she was a kid and running around the house with Gram's decorating the tree, making cookies and building gingerbread houses; even at that age feeling like this was her home and where she would live with her own family someday. "How does it look?"

"Amazing," she breathed and closed her eyes hearing the faint Christmas tunes playing through the rooms along with the wafting scent of cinnamon. "Would you do it like this every year?"

"My parents weren't much for the holidays but the kids were, Josette and I more than anyone; we'd get pretty into it. There's a picture of us with the other twins in matching sweaters somewhere out there."

"That's sweet, my dad and Gram's were big on holidays too we ended up here for most of them."

"What about your mom?" Kai asked opening the front door to stick a giant wreath in the center of it and Bonnie's stomach twisted, downing the rest of her glass as the smooth burn warmed her insides before speaking.

"She left when I was a kid." Kai turned back to her with his eyebrows down and shut the door, "I was too young to remember much but I found her a couple of years ago and got more than I bargained for as answers."

"Like what?"

"Like… that she left because of a ' _vampire-related problem'_. She told me Klaus was looking for Elena and lured him away to protect me; I don't really believe her."

"How come?"

"Because she could have come back at any time, or stayed and went to my Gram's and her grandmother for help; there weren't many of us but it would have been enough. Instead she blocked out her Bennett-bloodline and made a new life with another family in North Carolina. When I found out where she was I saw her a few times but it just – it wasn't what I had spent my life hoping to find so I tried distancing myself, and then she was turned into a vampire."

"What?" Kai let out befuddled sitting beside her on the couch, "you can't be a witch _and_ a vampire; it's the equivalent to good vs. evil."

"I know, so when Damon turned her-"

"Damon," he scoffed.

"She lost her powers and abilities of a witch. Last I heard she was pretty happy with the way her life is going."

"Why did he turn her?"

"Ester – the Wiccan mother of the Originals – was channeling the Bennett bloodline to exterminate her family and the only way to stop her was to sever the connection."

"So it was either you or her?" Kai concluded and she nodded, "well at least he made the right decision at one point in his life. But it sounds like it's been a while since that happened, you still don't want her in your life?"

"Not really, she isn't a witch anymore so I don't need her help with anything, and I've already lost two surrogate mothers since she walked out so it's easier this way."

Bonnie looked over to Kai nodding and she felt like no one would be able to understand what she was saying better than him. "What about your dad?"

The flash of her father's face crossing her mind had her eyes watering before she was consciously aware, blinking and feeling the streak slide down her cheek. Swiping quickly at her face Bonnie stood and walked around to the back of the couch looking at the naked tree in its stand.

"He died last summer. Silas killed him in front of me during a ceremony at Whitmore; he was Stefan's oldest and cruelest doppelganger, one of the last things I did before getting stuck in '94 was send him to Hell."

"Wow, I'm… sorry Bon," Kai said from behind her and her lids brimmed with tears hearing the sincerity in his tone, turning her head away as he got off the couch and stood beside her. "Can I ask you something else? I've been wondering it since I discovered a Bennett witch was stuck in my little fortress."

"My Gram's?"

"Yeah."

"It was my fault. I needed her magic to open the tomb that was harboring all of the vampires that were burned in the church in 1864 so Damon could find Katherine, but Gram's didn't unseal it and then he and Stefan got trapped inside. I begged her to help me lift the spell to get them out and the amount of magic required to do it was too much for her. I brought her home and went to make her tea and when I came back to check on her she was gone."

"Bon-"

"It was my own stupidity; I had just started to learn my powers and thought we could handle it."

"You didn't know." Biting the inside of her cheek Bonnie went to walk away before the tears fell but Kai reached for her hand pulling her into his chest. Bonnie held her breath terrified of what she'd turn into if she relaxed into him and closed her eyes feeling his arms cage around her hugging her tight. "You can't blame yourself; you know she didn't, and wouldn't want you to think that way. Sheila's one of the most headstrong people I've met and she never did _anything_ if it wasn't by choice, no matter who it was for."

"The only reason she was there was because of me," she mumbled into his shirt.

"And if she didn't go you would have tried to do it on your own and died in the process. Sheila knew what she was doing, and unlike you she was well aware of the possible consequences which didn't stop her."

"I feel so guilty," Bonnie admitted deflating into him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck pulling him closer and rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"You didn't kill her," he whispered lowering his face speaking against her cheek, "take my word on this – I know what I'm talking about. And I know your Gram's, if she stuck her neck out for me there's nothing she wouldn't have done to protect you. Plus, you had the fortunate encounter of seeing her after she had passed and knew she was at peace."

The reminder triggered a memory to drift up through Bonnie's mind, holding onto her Gram's hands and pleading with her to come back to Mystic Falls for redemption from what she had felt responsible over for years. Instead of jumping at the opportunity to live again she held her tight and let her know she had finally found peace, so Bonnie could find hers; not having any idea of what she could have meant leaving her staring down a frightening path of being trapped in a prison world in an alternate dimension. Lifting her head off of his shirt to look up Kai leaned back a fraction so she could see his eyes as he looked over her face, brushing his thumb over one of her cheeks.

"She really did like you, huh?"

"Sheila loved me," he tittered, "trusted me enough to bring you into my little world, didn't she?"

Rising onto her tiptoes Bonnie searched for his lips and let out a shaky exhale through her nose when they connected, Kai's arm up her spine holding her securely to his chest and rubbed in between her shoulder blades lightly. The tenderness in his touch and kiss was easing an ache deep inside her core causing her body to shudder and arms tensed around his neck pulling him closer. The gentle brushes of his lips against hers soothed Bonnie's frantic thoughts over the family she has lost due to this supernatural life and brought her back to present day, a smile spreading that one of the terrible fates thrown her way hasn't ended in a complete disaster. Leaving small pecks across her cheek and down her jaw, Kai moved lower nuzzling into her nibbling at the side of her neck making her laugh and squirm.

"That tickles," Bonnie let out through a fit of giggles and Kai leaned back grinning.

"So what was that for?"

The mischief behind his eyes was palpable repeating her words from earlier and her lip curved up with her eyebrow. "I don't need a reason."

"No, you do not," he concurred kissing her once more, "one of the things we agree on wholeheartedly."

Bonnie let out a jagged exhale through her smile and brought one of her hands down to wipe embarrassingly at her cheeks and eyes, taking a step back from his chest but still in his hold. "I swear I don't usually cry this much, you've just caught me at horrendous times."

"It's okay, Josette was way more emotional," he teased and she snorted out a sound.

"Well she did grow up with you, there were bound to be a few tears."

"Damn right, I am a master prankster and she was so gullible."

Bonnie looked up to his proud grin and felt hers falter thinking through all of the _other_ times Kai would have seen his sister crying because of him… or over him, and felt a sharp twist in her stomach.

"Luckily she had you for occasions like these to make up for it," she brightened looking around the decorated house of lights, garland, wreaths, and all the little fixings such as stockings, candles in the windows and Kai's very favorite; a mistletoe. "Gram's would love this."

Kai moved his arms out from behind her and grabbed her hand twirling her into his chest, moving slowly around the Christmas tree. What started out as humming escalated to a private showing of Kai belting out the melodies playing throughout the house, hitting all of the classics like _Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,_ and _Frosty the Snowman_. His excitement hit its peak when the intro to _Rudolph_ began and it was too contagious not to join in on, adding in the one-liners her and her friends always used to shout out during the songs breaks and let herself get lost in the moment dancing around the house with Kai.

Minutes turned into hours and they went back and forth from decorating inside and outside of the house to goofing off and Bonnie couldn't remember the last time she felt this comfortable and _normal,_ taking a few hours out of the paranormal issues of the day and being able to do common things again. It was dinnertime before she knew it and Kai made them chicken and cheese quesadillas with peppers, devouring almost her entire plate before he was halfway through; too eager to get to the part she's been waiting for all day.

"Do you want some of mine?" he asked with humor etched all over his features.

" _No_ I want you to hurry up so we can decorate the tree!" she bounced in her seat, "come on, come on, _come on!_ "

"Oh I'm loving how into this you are right now," he laughed shoving almost an entire slice in his mouth and hopped off his seat, speaking through his full mouth, " _let's go!"_

Sprinting past him and down the hall Bonnie rounded the corner into the living room and took in the scene of serenity; everything being lit up by the Christmas lights leaving them in a dimly lit setting while the music twinkled on. Scooping up a ball of lights near her feet she yanked at the ends to pull it apart to no avail and heard Kai murmur a remark behind her, taking the ball out of her hand and peeling through it with ease. Humming along to the music Bonnie stood on one side with Kai on the other and worked the long string from the top to bottom; switching between sticking the white lights in farther and resting them along the edges giving it an all-around larger and enchanting effect. The illumination off of the tree brightened the room twice as much and lit up Bonnie's features, letting out a sound of glee and moving with a pep in her step over to the boxes of ornaments on the couch and coffee table.

"Decorating the tree has always been my favorite part," Bonnie admitted, looking up to Kai's amused expression watching her dance from one side of the room and back, "she still has the ones I made her when I was in school – this one's from Kindergarten."

"Awh, look at that colorful half-eaten candy cane."

"I didn't _eat it_ smart-ass it broke sometime within the last fifteen years."

"Oh this one might be my favorite," he grinned reaching over her and pulling out a cut-out ornament covered in glitter with a picture of Bonnie in Elementary school dressed-up in a green and white plaid dress with a red bow on her bandana. "Look at that smile."

"Oh… no," she commented moving to swipe it out of his hand but he lifted it over his head out of reach, "that was just one of my hundred holiday dresses I wore for every occasion; I don't even think that day was anything special."

"This one's going on first," he vocalized through his laughter and moved back around the couch sticking it directly in the center.

"Not there."

"I think it looks perfect," he declared and wiped his hands together making his way back, "what's next?"

The next half hour was spent frolicking around the tree, engaging in another glass of whiskey with Kai feeling her mentality was both stronger and more centered than a few hours before. The majority of the ornaments were splattered throughout the branches bringing the tree to life and looked through the lights to Kai holding onto one and looking deep in thought trying to find a place for it. Bringing the glass up to her lips Bonnie allowed herself to take part in what she's recently become an expert on and analyzed Kai's every feature; still seeing the same person she met in the prison world while simultaneously distinguishing someone entirely new. The development from the baby-faced kid who was all fire and physicality had progressed into an extreme hypnotic attraction which often ended in the rooms crashing down around them, it only seeming to amplify and become more thought-provoking once they made it back home.

Bonnie had gone back and forth countless times over the feasible outcomes of the merge and how dreadful things could turn, but one of the only constants she had throughout was the intention to end whatever this flirtatiously explicit _thing_ happening between them. The curveball thrown into the mix that she couldn't have foreseen was the emotional switch in Kai's brain that flipped on, not only drawing her in out of intrigue but keeping her captive in his impassioned and unfeigned clutches unable to escape the allurement. What Kai had undergone after he crashed the ceremony and merged with the wrong twin culminated into a total metamorphosis of mind, body, and soul, and Bonnie was able to see the change in him more than just about anyone else.

"Can I ask you something?" Bonnie wondered out loud when his line of view trailed over connecting with hers.

"I suppose."

"What was it like – those few days after the merge? You glazed over your answer before of breaking things and it being the worst but I don't really know what happened."

"It reminded me of my dad trapping me in those memories but twenty times more traumatic. I thought of it as my ' _Greatest Hits'_ showing me all of the highs and lows from a kid until now, crushing me with the burden of every apparent emotion and feeling that should have been expressed during each moment and felt them all at once… for days. Then each time I woke up I'd notice the little alters in my appearance, which was pretty unusual but in a really cool way."

"So you had to basically re-experience your life to be able to see it differently."

"And it was harrowing, there were a few times I wanted to call it a day and revert back to my comfort zone of carefree living but the memories just kept coming forcing the feelings through."

"Until your brain couldn't take the contrast of thinking two separate ways and molded them into one triggering your emotions," Bonnie deduced and felt the lightbulb go off gasping out quietly at the epiphany and rounded the tree standing in front of him. "What if I do that to Caroline? Trap her in a magically-induced state of unconsciousness and hit her with every memory I can shake loose until it's too much bare and she snaps it back on."

"That… could work," Kai mused after a moment's thought, "I mean if it did on me it should be a piece of cake getting a mystical brute to flip on their humanity; they have the upper hand of having that characteristic _before_ all of this went down too. I think you might be onto something."

"Really? Bonnie beamed clutching her glass with such force it crossed her mind she might shatter it.

"And it only took until you stopped stressing over a solution and gave yourself a second to breathe."

"You may have helped a little too," she offered holding up her drink and he clanked his glass off the rim.

"We're the dream team; it's what I've been trying to tell you."

"Oh yeah – do we have a name?"

"I've got a few rough drafts in the works, I'm sure I'll come up with one that sticks," Kai winked and moved in close walking by her to the table, picking up the illuminated star and handing it to Bonnie.

"I can't reach that…"

"Close your eyes."

Raising an eyebrow Bonnie gave him a suspicious once over, putting the glass down beside her and following his instruction; Kai's fingers sliding over her left palm clasping her hand and murmured ' _condescendere'._ A feeling of lightness overcame Bonnie and inhaled deeply through her nose, her feet lifting off the ground and becoming weightless. Gripping his hand tighter she slowly opened her eyes and let out a sound of awe, looking to her left through an aerial view at the rest of the living room encased in holiday warmth and turned back to her right at the stunning display of a Christmas tree, placing the star on top. Floating down Kai slid their entwined hands behind her back causing her to drift into his arms and put her palms against his chest with an expression of jubilation.

"That was fun."

"You haven't seen anything, yet," Kai thrummed with his face so close their noses were nearly touching, "but check out our masterpiece."

Peeling her gaze away from his Bonnie swiveled her head to the right and stayed in his grasp, enjoying the display in front of her that they created and closed her eyes briefly once again recollecting how grateful she is to be back in her natural habitat.

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah," he uttered and she turned back to Kai staring down at her, "so I have an idea."

"Lay it on me."

"That's probably not a saying you want to use around me too much, but I'll let it slide this time," he remarked flashing his grin wide briefly, reverting back to his semi-serious gaze. "Do you want to go to Paris with me?"

"Wh-"Bonnie began jerking her head back at the foreign request, "I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just ask me if I would like to go to the most magnificent and breathtaking place in the world?"

"I mean I don't know if I'd say it's _all that_ but it is pretty nice."

"You've been there?" Bonnie exasperated and took in his reaction, "the prison world doesn't count; there are no people, or romance, or extravagant light shows in the middle of the winter in May 1994.

"That's a good point, so it'll be a new experience for the both us."

"You're serious – you really want to go to Paris?"

"Why not? We can check tomorrow and see if the happy couple's destination has changed course but if they're camped out there I say we take advantage and hit them with a little sneak attack. If anything at least we'll whammy one of them."

"Stefan's going to be harder to break through, this isn't his first time living life on the edge and he won't go down easily."

"What did you have in mind for him?"

"I have no idea; he's been dried out, tortured, and even been treated with softer approaches but he's resilient."

"How has he been brought back before?"

"Klaus compelled him to turn it off but Stefan was able to break through it to save Damon from being killed, and because of that he undid the compulsion."

"So he has a weakness for the ones he loves, we can use that."

"Wow, that was cynical," Bonnie observed, "yeah let's just torture Damon, Caroline, and Elena until he flips the switch back on; I told you it doesn't work."

"Well with physical torment you'll only be able to get so far because Stefan knows nothing permanent will happen to them so let's go after him psychologically. Same tactic but different conquests; Caroline will get hit with a little trip down memory lane wheedling the humanity out of her, while Stefan gets locked in a real-life situation where everyone dies and he snaps – but in a good way."

"Hm," Bonnie hummed out loud, taking his strategy into consideration.

"It's settled, we're doing it."

"This is crazy I can't just _go_ to France, it's the middle of the week. I don't have money or a passport, then there's what everyone will say, and I'd also like to add I'm a little hesitant about flying."

"You don't like flying?"

"I'm more of a road trip type of girl, staying planted to the Earth and my nature elements as much as humanly possible."

"It's up to you; we don't have to go it's just a suggestion."

"I know," Bonnie hesitated looking forward at his chest running through every other thought that weighed out the pros and cons and came up with virtually an even amount, swallowing past the lump in her throat and trailed up his frame. When it came down to the mission and purpose of going there Bonnie could get on board and push through her distress over what her friends will speculate on and bug her relentlessly for. The internal war she was grappling with was what could happen when she and Kai are on another continent half a world away from all of her friends but two, Bonnie's nerves kicking into high-gear at the sheer thought and dug the tips of her fingers into his stomach for a beat before regaining control. "Are you sure you want to take _me_ to the _City of Light?_ I may never come back."

"I can live anywhere, I adapt easily," Kai grinned from ear to ear wrapping his arms around her more snug, "and I would _love_ to be your first… to bring you to France that is – possibly Europe in general."

"I haven't had the pleasure of a world of my own and limited freedom to travel to anywhere I ever got an itch to see."

"That had to be my favorite part of the whole prison experience. So what do you say, should we pack our bags?"

Audibly groaning in deliberation Bonnie felt like she was looking at a revolving door showing her the bullet points of going vs. staying, speeding up until she closed her eyes and swayed from the onset dizziness slapping her hands to his chest to steady herself. Running her line of view over the room Bonnie replayed the serenity of the day spent alone with Kai and didn't know which was more disconcerting; that she was becoming more comfortable around him or that her nervousness was simultaneously escalating at a hasty speed. Getting a first-hand look into her heart, head, and stomach all in a battle royal Bonnie pushed through her tremulous state of being and exhaled through her mouth, nodding once.

"It looks like we're going on an adventure."


	20. Chapter 20

"Want to join the _mile high club?_ "

Bonnie glared to her left between the small built-in table separating the two massive recliners and her gaze flicked just over his head, staring out into a blackened night sky. Kai looked at ease in his restful position lounged all the way back and stretched out with his lids half open as she was the display of his opposite, sitting upright with her knees hugged to her chest and overwrought with jitters.

"Want a magical aneurysm?"

"So feisty," he commented stressing the _s_ , "I was just thinking maybe it would unwind you a bit, you've been tap-tap-tapping away for close to an hour."

Bonnie peered down at her fingers drumming and slapped them against her leg, clasping her hands around her legs and inhaling steadily to compose her skittishness; her foot starting to shake in response.

"Are we almost there?"

"Sort of."

"Like in the next few minutes?"

"Or hours," he threw out.

" _Hours?_ Kai – I-" Bonnie tripped over her words feeling her heartbeat pick up at the realization she was still going to be in the deathtrap for a significant amount of time and felt an acute sense of claustrophobia like the walls were closing in making her lightheaded. "I need air."

Standing Kai pressed something overhead and a gust of wind hit the top of her skull cooling her fevered mind and traveling down the back of her neck. Crouching in front of her and wrapping his hands around her ankles Bonnie felt the tingling from his touch looking at him eye-level with her as a smirk broke loose.

"A witch that doesn't like to fly; I think I've seen it all." The sound of laughter bubbled up through Bonnie's vocal cords, never seeing it like that before and found amusement in the irony. Sliding her locked grip down her hands wandered over Kai's and wrapped her fingers around his wrists. "Come sit with me."

"I am sitting with you," she retorted looking to her right at the empty recliners and behind her to the two other sets; the one diagonal occupied by an old-couple sleeping. "Unless you see someone else jumping at the opportunity to steal my seat."

"They can have your seat, mine is one step away." Bonnie didn't resist when he turned his hands over from her ankles to wrists and pulled her up, reaching behind the chair for a hidden blanket and flipping on his fan overhead before sitting in the laid back position.

Readjusting the seat accordingly he kept it reclined enough to be comfy but still vertical that she could sit across his lap. Lifting one shaky foot over his Bonnie acclimated herself so her legs were over his lap and butt was against his left thigh, almost falling onto the cushion from the size of the chair. Throwing the blanket behind her back and over their legs Bonnie could hear her heart thudding wildly and rested her palm against his chest noting his steady rhythm.

"How much longer is the flight?"

"Wouldn't you rather leave it up in the air – pun intended – and just enjoy the ride?"

"I know it was eight and half gruesome hours that I'm really wishing I put into consideration for more than a minute and we _have_ to be getting close. I feel like I've been on this thing all day."

"Well that's because our flight was delayed all afternoon and it's been in your head that you're going on a plane since last night."

"I know and we were supposed to be able to go right from the airport to wherever Stefan and Care are hiding during waking hours but now it'll be after 4AM by the time we get there."

"Being on a long flight can get you pretty wiped, probably best we have our rest before jumping into people's minds."

"You look like you could fall asleep right now."

"When I have a beautiful girl on my lap? Please," he chuckled drowsily running his hand over her jeans, "I'd have to be past the point of exhaustion."

"And why don't you want to sleep – something else on your mind?" Bonnie questioned in an innocent tone and Kai's wolfish grin spread darkening his aura and eliciting the same hidden side of her.

"I could think of a couple ways to pass the time."

"And how much time has surpassed us so far?" Bonnie asked again and Kai scrunched his nose not wanting to answer.

"We've been up for about five hours."

"Then we still have over _three_ left?" Bonnie concluded and groaned falling into him resting her temple against his shoulder, "I'm not going to make it."

"You'll be fine."

"Nope, you're going to have to go on without me."

"And save your friends?"

"Mhm."

"Become the hero?"

"There are worse things."

"Yeah that all sounds like things I would be up for; sign me up."

"You're a pal," she commented tapping his chest twice lightly and hit his pendant under his shirt, pulling at the chain on the side of his neck and letting the symbol fall into her palm.

"You like looking at that," he remarked, "I've noticed."

"I like it," she admitted feeling her cheeks burn at the knowledge that Kai has been awake more times than she had thought seeing how she only examines it when they're cuddled up, "the look of it, the meaning behind it; and I love that Jo gave it to you and you still wear it."

"It was a good gift."

"It was also sentimental; maybe even then you had a soft spot tucked away just for your sister."

"Nothing about me is soft," Kai exuded with confidence and Bonnie let out a snigger as her mind went into the gutter, "as I'm sure you know; it's not in my nature."

"Oh I beg to differ," Bonnie vocalized placing the Celtic Dara knot over his shirt and glided her hand back over his heart and up the side of his neck gently caressing the scruff of his beard. She watched as the simmering fire momentarily extinguished and his eyes cleared, the butterflies fluttering seeing his defenses down and wide open; luring her in closer. "There's an exception to everything and everyone – even for you."

"I think _you_ are my exception."

Bonnie's cheeks flushed listening to Kai's quiet voice turning groggy being so upfront and spilling out confessions that exhibits the new ways of thinking he's adapting to, his bold statements still hitting her with as much force as every other time.

"And how is that?"

"You've gotten under my skin," he voiced with a noncommittal gesture, "now you're in every thought and making me see and react to things differently; to be honest it's very confusing, and maddening."

"You never had to go through that with Gabriela?"

"Not at all, why; is this something you frequently had to put up with against your exes?"

"Well yeah with Jer, but," she stopped short, the words _but I was in love with him_ a breath away from being spoken and backtracked, "we had been dating for a while. It had gotten to the point that we were so close there was nothing I wouldn't do to keep him safe, even if it killed me."

"That's stupid," he murmured and Bonnie's eyes sliced into his, "what would be the point? If you save him and die in the process you still wouldn't end up together."

"The point is I would be saving his life and giving him another chance to embrace the world and make a difference," Bonnie stated with belief and Kai yawned in response as his lids closed.

"Save yourself."

" _I do_ , I'm still here aren't I?"

"After being trapped in an alternate dimension for nearly a year. And I recall you saying you were pulling people _back over_ from the Other Side meaning you were there to begin with – why, I still don't know – and I'm sure there were one or two more, along with a lists worth of close calls stacked up over the years."

"That actually had to do with Jeremy," Bonnie professed looking away to the rest of the plane noting Kai's eyes were starting to become visible, "he was dead… and I couldn't – it was too painful without him. And Elena had gone off the deep end flipping the switch and burning her house to the ground, so I upset the balance of nature and used light, dark, and spirit magic all at once to get him back. In my defense it did, work but I had to endure the ramifications. Qetsiyah – she's the oldest Bennett ancestor and the one who put up the spell for the Other Side, along with the spell and cure for immortality-"

"Vampirism?" Kai concluded and she nodded.

"She transferred the status of being an Anchor to the Other Side to me so I could still exist in the real world but it was awful; I felt every death that crossed over and it wore down my abilities. After one of the Travelor's tore his way out of Purgatory everything started to collapse and, well – you know the rest of the story; I found my way-"

"To me," Kai finished flashing his cheeky grin.

"To an eternal _Groundhog Day_ ," Bonnie corrected, "that you happened to be in."

"See now I'm torn; I wanted to yell at you for being a martyr but it was because of your typical self-sacrificing ways that you ended up on my side of the world."

"It's not like I intentionally go out of my way and put myself in danger, but I am from a town where everyone's lives including my own are constantly in jeopardy."

"And you think you're the only lionhearted soul that can come to their rescue."

"I'm not really in it for the title," Bonnie smirked trying to make light of the topic that's souring both of their moods, "but I do like the way you put it."

Hearing a deep sound in the back of Kai's throat Bonnie looked down to his head resting against the chair and eyes closed but there was a visible line between his eyebrows showing his aggravation towards her.

"It's not your job to fix everything everyone else broke, Bonnie," Kai stated with a tone of authority, that and him using her full name together sounding foreign, "the fact that you're a witch should seal my point not be your excuse for why you continue to."

"They're my friends."

"They're also vampires."

"What are you getting at?" Bonnie spewed and his eyes opened directly into her gaze.

"You remember what I said last night, right? About witches being _good_ and vampires being _evil_ on the supernatural scale; we're polar opposites. Witches weren't designed to help vamps out of the jams they created, and we definitely weren't meant to risk our lives for their _non_ living way of existing."

"Watch it; you're talking about people I care about."

"I'm talking about someone _I_ care about. The girl I knew in the prison world was powerful, stubborn, and didn't care about anything other than fighting for herself to be free and live her life. Little did I know you've been willing to die repeatedly just so your BFF's can cause more problems, and you don't even seem to care."

"I _do_ -"

"And where are you now, but flying to another continent in hopes of repairing people who are not currently a threat to you."

"For now."

"Until you poke the bear, yeah, but the other bystanders that cross their path aren't your responsibility to liberate. I get that you're a Bennett and all that entails but you aren't the _Savior of Mystic Falls;_ one day something's going to happen that you can't come back from and they'll mourn you for a brief amount of time, and move on. Because they have the rest of their lives to deal with, which will inevitably be full of bad decisions and the next dilemma of the day and your sacrificial act will be for nothing."

Bonnie battled between a waging war of rage and sorrow; his words digging into her deepest weakness of self-doubt; risking everything and paying the ultimate price just for everyone to do the same thing next week and get themselves killed. There was also the thought that trickled through her mind on occasion; if her act of love would go by unnoticed and undervalued. Begging the tears not to fall Bonnie clenched her fists as they tingled over her indignation that Kai – who has no idea what she's been through or who the ones closest to her really are – is lecturing her over why she _shouldn't_ be helping the people she loves. Pivoting her hips one leg swung over his to the ground and began to get up when the plane started shaking and Bonnie jumped back into his lap curling her legs in tight.

"What was that?"

"Turbulence."

"Oh," she brushed off peeling her hand away from the grip on the middle of his shirt and leaned back, Kai sliding his hand up her jeans to hold onto her upper thigh keeping her anchored to him. "If what you're saying is a tactic to distract me and pass time then you suck because this is not the state of mind I want to spend the next few hours in."

"It's not a rouse, I'm testing out that honesty card to make you see how ludicrous you sound when you justify having to die so others can live. Why is that; do you think you aren't as important as the rest of them, that they deserve to be here more than you?"

"No."

"Then what? Why are you so willing to throw your life away when I saw with my own eyes how relentless you were to make it back here?"

"I'm not going to have an answer that you'll want to hear, or that you'll understand. I can help the one's I love – save them – do what others aren't capable of, and I'm strong enough to know I can beat just about everyone and anything I come up against."

"And the one's you can't defeat? What happens when you don't have an alternate dimension or a thousand year-old ancestor to bail you out? Then you're gone, and it's just you and your thoughts for an infinite amount of time. Going over every moment in your life, wondering how things could have gone differently if you had chosen door 2 instead of 1, and replaying your last memories until they're coated in hatred and resentment; it's enough to make anyone snap. There's no nobility in death, Bonnie, just suffering. Aren't you tired of that?"

"Yes," she let slip without a conscious thought.

"The way I see it; you could lose one of them – or all of them, and you have the control over what the outcome will be."

Kai's words sunk deep into her cerebellum and spread like a disease, hitting triggers along the way of her darkest fears mixed with her unwavering morale to protect the one's that mean the most to her. Bonnie has given herself the same speech so many times in the past she had lost count but it sounded significantly different coming from someone else, somehow it making more of an impact. The reasoning behind her every action was for the sake of her friends and keeping them all in her life, but what Kai's emphasizing is that even if she succeeded and kept them all alive and together there is a considerable chance Bonnie would be the only one that was missing from the family photo.

Since she discovered she was a witch Bonnie gained knowledge of any piece of information she could get her hands on, growing stronger through each Grimoire and battle for her life over these few short years that it has become ingrained in her mind. Her instincts have turned solely on being there for the many, and not the one; herself. The actions she's done proves how far Bonnie's been willing to go for others, but she would be lying if she didn't admit there was a lingering doubt on the extent her friends would go to for her.

"Where's the bathroom?" Bonnie asked breaking the silence, Kai looking her over once more before pointing to the front of the plane.

"Up there on the left."

Peeling her legs off of his she walked with slow, deliberate steps to not lose her balance and made it into the decent sized bathroom with a bit of breathing room to pace around in. Five minutes turned into fifteen while her train of thought ran away from her and eventually dragged her feet out of the cubicle, making her way back over to the seats and noticed Kai had slipped into unconsciousness while she was gone. Mulling over the options Bonnie opted not to wake him and resigned back to her own seat, pulling the blanket out from behind it and curling up into the cushy recliner. Balling up her sweatshirt she placed it on the small table between them and rested her head against it, the thoughts never seeming like they would turn off and closed her eyes breathing in deep.

xx

"Ma'am, we've arrived," a woman beside her vocalized and Bonnie opened her tired eyes to a flight attendant looking over them endearingly. Turning her head towards Kai her gaze went down to their entwined fingers that must have happened while the both of them were asleep, pulling her hand free to shake his wrist.

"Kai, we're here."

Kai's expression turned cranky opening an eye a crack and glanced at her, "where?"

"Paris," she responded, the answer sinking in as a realization causing her grin to split from ear to ear with a burst of adrenaline, bouncing in her seat twice. "We're really in Paris!"

" _Oui oui_ ," Kai purred in a hoarse voice, sitting up and grabbing the same hand that was just locked in his and made their way to the exit with his eyes half closed. "We just need to get our bags then it's off to a hotel to sleep for 10 hours."

"That's a little drastic."

"I'm that tired," he nodded and she could see it in his appearance.

The process of finding their luggage, hailing a cab and locating one of the ' _finer_ ' hotels that passed Kai's expectations had taken them another half hour and he looked like he was sleepwalking as they made their way to the front desk. Bonnie couldn't help but let her eyes wander over the sleek and modern architecture of the building, pristine and cutting edge in shades of silver and bronze giving it a high-fashioned look.

"Welcome to the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, checking in?"

"One of your suites on the top floor, please," he smiled sliding his card across the counter.

"And would you like one King size bed or two Queens?" Kai's head swiveled to her with a devious grin and Bonnie squinted her eyes back at him, not wanting to say the words he knows she's thinking. "King is fine."

"Okay so that will come to $317 for the night," the receptionist said while swiping his card and handing it back to him with two keys cards, "you'll be in Suite 2 on the top floor to the right. We have a heated indoor pool, gym, billiard room, and an extraordinary view from the balcony so make sure you both take advantage."

"Will do," he nodded as a goodbye and a gentleman off to their left assisted Kai with the bags as they all made their way to the elevator riding it up to the top.

The doors slid open to a narrow white hallway with two doors in the center and opened the door with a giant 2 on the front, flashing the key card and audibly gasping at the sight as Kai tipped the bellboy. Bonnie had never been in a suite before, the few occasions spent in a hotel doing no justice to the massive space in front of her. The floors were a dark brown marble, matching the interior design of the beams and columns spread throughout which was a vibrant contrast against the all-white furniture. The design of the suite made it look even larger as the floors had steps of two going into every other room including the living room, bedroom, bathroom, and even the balcony. The bedroom gave off a home-like aura with its neutral tan walls and curtains, hardwood flooring and what looked like one of the softest pure-white beds she's ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Crossing over a fuzzy light brown carpet Bonnie's curiosity got the best of her and yanked back the curtains, her mouth popping open as she opened the sliding door and stepped into the cold night air. Walking diagonally left across the spacious balcony past the loveseat couch and the small table with chairs Bonnie's eyes lit up as bright as the Eiffel tower, shining yellow and encased in white lights. They were so high up the middle window of the tower was eye-line to her and there were only two buildings separating her from this breathtaking sight. Leaning against the railing to get even closer Kai snaked his arms around her stomach and pulled her back into his solid frame.

"You like the view?"

"Kai, this is…" she fizzled out, a word not coming to mind that seemed appropriate enough for what she's feeling and swiveled around in his hold, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I figured you had to have one of the nicest spots seeing how this is your first time," he vocalized and she could hear the smile in his tone, leaning her head back to his cheeky expression, " _I had to make it special."_

"Keep this up and I might start to believe you're a _romantic_ ," Bonnie teased brushing her nose against his and Kai let out an agonized sound.

"Oh say it ain't so, Doc, not the _romantic bug._ "

"I'm afraid so, you've been infected; we should quarantine you immediately."

"You're right, let's lock ourselves in the bedroom and not come out until this whole epidemic is cleared up."

"Pretty sure there is no touching whatsoever in a state of cordon with _enforced isolation_."

"Oh… then no deal," Kai uttered through his disgusted look and Bonnie laughed lightly at the conversation they were having in this location of all places.

"Let's get you to bed, you look like the walking dead," she stated and he grumbled making odd zombie-like sounds that had her cracking up and swatting at him as Kai caged her against the railing.

"So that's what it takes to get you in bed; half-asleep and more than a little delusional? I'll have to remember that."

"Ah yes, the way to my heart," Bonnie hummed and slid her finger down his arms around her back clasping his hands and leading him back into the bedroom. Unable to resist she ran her hands over the soft comforter until her body was stretched out sideways breathing in the fresh scent. "This is heaven."

"What an upgrade from our other _Hell'ish_ digs, right? Started from the bottom-"

"Now we're here," Bonnie finished singing the lyrics and dropping her voice an octave, Kai turning his head to the side as a smile started to spread. "It's a song."

"Got'cha," Kai chuckled and turned out of sight and hollered back, "you have got to come see this bathroom."

Practically sprinting around the corner Bonnie halted to a stop taking in yet another room that was so elegant and flawless she wasn't sure how she was lucky enough to have ended up in a place like this, the closest parallel she had was from the movies highlighting the lifestyles of the rich and famous. To her far left were three long windows overlooking the night sky covered with sheer white curtains and continued to the right, passing over a three-foot plant before a small portion of stones from floor to ceiling caught her eye. Stepping closer Bonnie spotted the 6 nozzles overhead with a larger one in the center and small lights shining down illuminating the small area.

"We have a waterfall shower?"

"You bet we do; have you ever used one?" he questioned and let out a satisfied noise, "impeccable."

Bonnie looked past Kai to the right seeing the brown seat shaped like a boomerang in front of a small washing area, observing that the sink was actually a brown'ish-gray bowl and there was a spout instead of the usual faucet. The toilet was located on the far right of the room with a similar color of porcelain and looked too fancy for what it was used for. Looking behind her to the left Bonnie let out a sound of content taking in the last item of the room; the same color and shape of the sink's bowl shape amplified ten times its size with a depth you could sink into. This was unlike any tub she had seen before, not the same shape or size and it gave her the overwhelming urge to jump in. There were two chandeliers hanging over the sink and the tub; the sink's similar to an upside down wedding cake of twinkling lights while the tub's had large water droplet-shaped bulbs and realized they were spread in other rooms throughout the suite.

"I need to use this bathtub."

"All in due time, first you have to get some sleep so you'll have the energy for tomorrow."

"I hate it when you're right," Bonnie trudged and heard his soft snickering as she forced her way out the room back into the next and went for her bag, digging through until she pulled out an oversized _Mystic Falls High_ t-shirt. Scurrying past him back into the bathroom she used the facilities first then quickly lost her jeans, shirt, and bra sliding the cotton over her head.

"You just can't stay away from that place, huh?" Kai grinned looking over her attire.

"I like to have a little piece of home with me wherever I am," she stated as a matter of fact and he tilted his head from left to right. Not giving him time to answer Bonnie went straight for the bed and pulled the sheets back, her mouth just about salivating at the tranquility she was about to be engulfed in and slid her legs under the covers letting out her satisfaction with each remark sinking into the pillow. The lights started to dim at a leisurely pace as if it were on a timer and Kai rounded to the other side of the bed pulling back the sheets in just a pair of boxer briefs. "Do you even own pajamas?"

"Of course I do, "Kai commented crawling two steps towards her like a predator before slipping his feet underneath and settling in, "does this not count?"

"You'd actually need to _wear_ an outfit for that to work, and boxers don't cut it."

"But girls sleep in their underwear all the time."

"How would you-"Bonnie began and stopped herself, "never mind, but you should really start wearing a shirt or something."

"I'll get too hot," he whined and rolled onto her, his legs over hers locking her in place and leaned up on his hands and knees looking over her, "besides, I have you to keep me warm."

Bonnie's skin started to prickle and sizzle in her overtired state, the ambiance around Kai coated in a mixture of danger and desire drawing her in like it was a physical presence. Unable to move her legs from the confinement of him pressing against her upper thighs Bonnie's hands wandered up his muscular arms and felt them tense under her touch, maintaining slow and gentle strokes over his arms, shoulders, and upper chest. Kai's tired eyes lulled closed and head dropped forward a fraction looking so worn out all Bonnie could think of was to relax him this way until he fell asleep. Moving one hand away from the side of her head and trailing down her body Kai reached his hand under the shirt up the side of her hip pulling the material with it.

"Kai," she warned grabbing his wrist.

"The sexual beast within you can stay dormant for now, but this has got to go."

Bonnie snorted at the response and felt his hand pulling her shirt up farther until he was cupping the swell of her breast, his heavy lids opening a sliver showing only the blackness of his pupils. Bringing her face closer to his compelling stare Kai pulled the shirt over her head in one motion and shivered with both the instant coldness and display of vulnerability she was showcasing. Humming in the back of his throat Kai pulled in his bottom lip, his right hand grasping the side of her neck as the other moved down her hip leaving gentle scratches over sensitive areas that spiked Bonnie's pheromones exponentially. Kai was barely conscious and yet he was still able to instigate and entice a woman putting in minimal effort, stirring up and kindling the overwhelming cravings she harbors against the tenacious witch threatening to seduce his way through the built-up walls into her heart.

"That feels nice," Bonnie whispered as her eyes drifted shut, the light brushes against her skin simmering under an electric charge.

Every one of Kai's movements felt heightened through her blinded state; his weight pressed firmly against her thighs, the light touches alluring her as an invitation for more, his thumb brushing the side of her jaw as he clasped her neck, and his heavy breathing hot on her face.

"We're over four thousand miles away from the cozy neighborhood of Mystic Falls and all of its inhabitants; isn't that thrilling? No one can call and make you jump out of bed or know that you're _in bed_ with me to begin with; it's all very stimulating."

Bonnie's fingers curled around Kai's chain at the suggestiveness to his statement. It was true, no one knew what she was doing and had no way of finding out, the only ones who could blow her cover were unaware of her unannounced visit. This was the first time since she came home that she's felt the freedom of being able to do whatever she wanted without the voice in the back of her mind nagging her over the potential consequences. Here – in a lush bed a stone's throw away from the Eiffel Tower – Bonnie could breathe easy, her mind and body lulling into a sense of serenity feeling like she was finally herself; no judgy-vibes filling her thoughts.

"I already don't want to leave," she smiled sheepishly gliding her hands around his ribs to the hard muscles rippling his back, Kai's breath coming out in a harsh huff against her face.

Instinctively Bonnie lifted her legs with force propelling him forward to slide down her thighs to the thin material of clothing she had left and felt the ache burning through her core into his; the tension rattling the objects on the dresser across the room. Bonnie could feel the underside of Kai hard as stone pressing against her and her legs moved restlessly behind him, wanting to wrap them around his hips anchoring him to her as he drove into her until they were too fatigued to go on.

"But how would we pass the time?" Kai breathed lowly against her cheek as goosebumps tickled her skin.

Bonnie's lids fluttered half-open as he leaned back and flashed his deviously attractive smirk. "I'm up for suggestions."

Kai's eyes flickered from one of her pupils to the other, a barely noticeable shift in his manner happening and his face softened, the hand near her head trailing across her jaw and sweeping his thumb over her bottom lip. Bonnie's head tilted taking in the look he was giving her – like he wanted to say something, but wouldn't. A small crease between his eyebrows that Bonnie's concluded is his _intense worry-line_ appeared and listened to Kai inhale deep, waiting for the exhale that didn't seem to arrive. Tracing small circles down his lower back he released the shaky breath through his nose and the line deepened, turning his face away into his bicep before laying his body flat against hers.

The weight of his body fully on hers had Bonnie letting out pants to catch her breath and a rumble sounded deep in Kai's chest, running his hands down her sides and spreading her legs to fall in between them. Unconsciously lifting her legs to stretch, they impulsively attached to Kai's thighs wrapping behind and dragged her heels down causing him to grind into her and looked overhead to his clenched jaw and rigged frame. Bonnie was having a hard time being able to contain this insatiable want and lechery for someone that a year ago she had no idea existed, and six months ago was making rash strides in her quest to kill him. If there was any one person to guess that she would never end up with Kai Parker would have been at the top of that list; their stellar track record in the beginning of their entrapment in the prison world a solid foundation to build her validation off of, but their recent time together has thrown a live grenade into Bonnie's formerly already shaky way of life. Still feeling Kai's tense muscles his eyes were in a losing battle against his lids, drifting closed every few seconds before lazily opening again.

"You look like you're trying so hard not to doze off."

"I am," Kai professed in a provocatively gravelly tone sending a shiver through her body causing her legs to clench around him and he hummed in the back of his throat, raking his nails under her thigh up to her only item of clothing.

"Then go to bed," Bonnie smiled and he grumbled in protest.

"I can't."

"You can."

"Not when I can feel how much you want me," he murmured casually and her body heat spiked wanting to shoot him down when he slid his arm underneath her back lifting her into a roll of his hips, a soft gasp leaving her lips at the connection. "That's the kind of thing I need to be awake and active for."

"And you are neither of those things," Bonnie stated skipping over his first statement, but she could see the heat in his gaze and knew that's what the flash of the smile was for. Biting down on the side of her cheek in an attempt not to roll her eyes or say something else that'll make things worse, her lack of filter due to exhaustion had her words continuing to spill out. "Let's not get into something you can't finish."

"Oh I can finish," Kai promised as a wolfish grin spread and tilted his head to one side, "and in any case I'd at least make sure _you_ finished."

Bonnie's cheeks burned at the flagrant come-on and felt the heat travel down her core and between her legs, licking her top lip as his rough voice of assurance reverberated through her skull. Taking in his lust-induced stare her hands wandered over every taut muscle and although his words were coated in confidence and temptation his outer appearance signified he was not as in control as he appeared, and that sent a surge of deep satisfaction through her curving the side of her lip up at the realization. Kai may be able to pick up on her sexually frustrated attraction towards him, but Bonnie could also the carnal demand that blazed in his eyes whenever they locked in on her.

As Bonnie was well aware that he was a domineering man who never failed to get whatever he set his sights on, there were still whispers in the back of her mind advising her that she was capable of taming him – goading Bonnie out of her comfort zone into unknown bone-chilling territories. Stretching her hands overhead her breasts swelled into Kai's chest, her hardened nipples rubbing against him giving away Bonnie's obvious eagerness and forced a soft groan out of his lips, dropping his forehead onto hers.

"It's going to take more than that to satisfy me, Colonel," Bonnie said in a temptress tone, a growl vibrating from his throat down to where they were still intimately connected through their thin fabric.

"I'm well informed Miss Scarlet, you're a rare find."

"One of a kind," she stated with fake-credence, her stomach fluttering violently at his openness and Kai nuzzled his nose against hers before moving across her cheek and tightening his hold around her in an embrace.

"Don't I know it."

A whimper crawled up Bonnie's throat escaping before she was consciously aware, her eyes opening wide hearing the noise and felt a wave of embarrassment threatening to crash down on her. Without throwing a pity party up until now Bonnie hasn't been perceived as someone special or the girl that stood out above the rest but the way Kai made her feel brought those lingering thoughts back into question, and his willingness in vocalizing them gave her a bizarre sensation that she couldn't place. It felt like Bonnie's throat was closing up the more she delved into the meaning behind it all, glancing down to her hands pushing against the little space of his chest between them.

"Oh," she uttered out loud stopping herself and sliding her hands around the nape of his neck into his hair.

"What were you just thinking?"

"Your crushing weight," Bonnie lied with the first thing that popped into her head.

"Really?" Kai wondered skeptically, "and what about that little sound you made?"

"My lungs trying to get oxygen," she shrugged noncommittally and Kai's eyebrow rose, lifting his chest off of hers and thrusting his pelvis forward making her toes curl.

"Better?"

"It's like you read my mind," Bonnie joked with a hint of honesty, her brain conjuring up every image it could muster of their times together; Kai's husky sounds and shameless ramblings of want echoing in her ears. "But now you're just hovering over me like a bat."

"What do you suggest?"

Giving him a coy smile like a feline Bonnie used her body weight to roll Kai onto his back, his arm behind her hauling her on top of him and her palms landed flat against his chest, fingers curling at the hard burliness underneath her. Feeling Kai's fingers snaking up her back she quickly swung one leg back over and snuggled up into his left side, pushing his arm out of the way to rest her head on his shoulder. Kai turned his head a few inches from her face and squinted his eyes in a mock-glare.

"That is so not what I had in mind."

"But it's what you need," Bonnie reassured drumming her fingers against his ribs lightly.

"I know what we need," he counteracted, her mouth drying at the commanding bite of an undertone and he nipped at the tip of her nose making her giggle and turn into his arm.

"You aren't the only one."

"Fine, we'll play by your rules tonight; it'll make tomorrow that much more tantalizing."

"I'm going to regret this aren't I?" she groaned into his arm and he tightened his hold bringing her face closer to his neck turning into him.

"There's a high probability you could be correct."

Mumbling her words of protest Kai's chest vibrated from laughter and slid his hand down her back resting against the curve of her butt, yawning so forcefully his body shook and nestled her in closer before settling in to sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

"Chateau… what?" Bonnie repeated.

" _Chateau de Versailles_ , it was scrolled out in cursive at the top of the gold invitation Caroline was holding," Kai said moving around the room to grab a pen and paper writing down what he was able to see through Care's eyes during the spell and closed his. "It said this year's theme is _Beauty and the Beast_ … which you have to admit is kind of perfect, and that everyone's to dress in costumes of the pair from over the centuries. Oh and it's a masquerade! That could get interesting. And it starts at 9PM and goes all night; ideal setting for a couple vampires letting loose."

"With masks and costumes to cover up the spree they could have at a Masquerade Ball. Just the name of that place sounds rich; it's going to be massive."

"It's our best shot at getting them, it'll be easier to split and keep them apart. It's the only place we know they will be at and the party will be when they'd least expect an attack. I say we go for it."

"To a _Beauty and the Beast_ Masquerade… really?" Bonnie let out skeptically walking around the spacious living room, "Isn't that kind of a couple's thing; with the 17th Century clothing, and dancing, and romance?"

"Yeah," he commented with a bold stare sliding his hands into his pockets, "so do you want to go?"

Seeing flashes of elegant outfits and envisioning an expanse building filled with happy guests intermingling in one of the most beautiful places in the world was forcing the little girl within her front and center; dazzled by all of the possibilities.

"I really do," she confessed and Kai hopped to his feet off the white couch taking a step towards her spinning Bonnie quickly before pulling her into him.

"Excellent, it'll give me another chance to show off my moves."

"It would be a shame for the Parisian guests to miss out on such a treat. But it's only a little after two, we still have to wait until tonight."

"I'm sure we can find something to do in a place like this," he remarked with a cock of his eyebrow and heat tilt like you would give someone who didn't understand the punchline.

"You want to roam around the streets of Paris?" she wondered and was equally surprised by his eagerness.

"I haven't been out and around common folk for quite some time, color me interested. You're telling me you'd rather stay here?"

"I said no such thing; I was just asking you a question. We need costumes for tonight, maybe we should start there."

"Oh I know the perfect spot – super secluded, I came across it on one of my trips here it was only a few minute walk from the Tower."

Within minutes they were both dressed; Kai in dark jeans and a dark blue button down, and Bonnie in light jeans, a beige low cut blouse and a loose open brown jacket over it and headed out of the hotel. It was still chilly 45 degree weather but both seemed more than happy to endure it, opting to walk the distance to Kai's supposed secret hideaway and managed to find it in a short amount of time.

"Wow," Bonnie breathed looking down the long narrow street aligned with shops and people passing by, chatty and cheerful.

"Welcome to the _Rue de Commerce,_ " Kai pronounced with a slight accent and roll of his tongue, "it's your heart's desire, I'm sure."

Positive she looked like a typical tourist mouth agape and eyes sparkling taking in every building and person around her, Bonnie sauntered down the cobblestone path taking in her surroundings and heard Kai's gasp behind her.

"Look at the name!" he hollered from five feet back and turned to his face of delight, Bonnie's eye-line following his pointed finger and dissolved into laughter reading the name

"Koo _Kai?_ "

"If there was one type of store in the whole world I would name my establishment after this would not be anywhere near my top ten, but it doesn't matter; let's check it out!"

Looking at the woman's clothing on the display mannequins Bonnie made it through the doors first and went straight for the one wearing a brown spaghetti strap dress and polka dolt brown and white scarf.

"Bonjour! Comment vas tu aujourd'hui?"

Bonnie's head turned towards the voice and saw a bubbly woman behind the counter smiling brightly at them both, freezing at the realization her two years of French in school was not going to be much help today.

"Nous sommes grand merci."

"Besoin d'aide pour trouver quelque chose en particulier?"

"Ballgown jaune, comme la beaute et la bete."

"Oh oui! Un moment s'il vous plait."

"Merci vous cous."

Kai looked over to her as the woman turned out of sight and Bonnie could only imagine the bewildered look she was giving him, for lack of a better phrase being blown away by what she just witnessed.

"You speak French?"

"Of course, you don't?"

"I know a little bit here and there but I wouldn't call it _fluent_ ," she said with a wave of her hand making him chuckle.

"But you know _Latin_ , that's so much more difficult to learn."

"And a necessity in the world I live in, my high school French hasn't seemed to make an appearance until this very moment. So you know Latin and French-"

"And Spanish," Kai added.

"Okay."

"Portuguese," he offered and her eyes squinted, "and you know, there's a couple different _types_ of Latin so you can't really just bunch that into one; but yeah, to name a few."

"I think I hate you a little bit, but I also feel like I need to travel everywhere with you as my personal translator."

"I'm up for that," he nodded with a soft smile running his hand around her waist drawing her in slowly, "I'm a little spotty on my Russian and Arabic, and German is one I will never attempt again, but other than that we could go anywhere you wanted."

Bonnie's heart rocketed up to her throat, cutting off her airway hearing Kai's soothing words making vows to do the things she's spent her entire life dreaming of – already living out one of them right now. Breathing in deeply she let herself get lost in the moment, closing the distance between them leaning her head against his shoulder away from his face and her arms tucked between them resting against his stomach.

"I suggest _il bellissimo luogo d'Italia_ ," he rasped and Bonnie listened closely knowing one of the words in the sentence.

"Italy!" she beamed turning her head to face Kai, "of course you know Italian too; you're just full of surprises. So what was happening during the conversation I missed?"

"She asked how we were and if we were looking for anything so I told her a yellow ball gown, like _Beauty and the Beast_ ," he laughed, "she was very excited."

"You know the color of the dress?" Bonnie cracked up leaning back still within his arms, "were you a secret fan of Disney movies?"

"Oh it was no secret I love animated movies, having smaller people running around was just the excuse. But Disney didn't _create_ the story; it's been around since the 1700's."

"I know they didn't, Disney seems to get all of their kid's movies from some pretty gruesome fables."

"Yeah this one's no different, I'm pretty sure the beast eats her at the end," he snorted, "or at least tries to kill her a few times and the backstory is a little too bleak for children. It's fitting that it's the theme this year, seeing how the story was from a French author originally called _La Belle et la Bete._ "

"You have a vast knowledge of some of the most random information," Bonnie said with one eye squinted a little more than the other, looking him over, "but you know _so much_."

"In the top of my class, baby," Kai remarked and puffed his chest out exuding confidence, "also, after a decade in the prison world I'm pretty certain I read every book I could get my hands on; it's so weird some of the things you remember, right?"

"Absolutely," she agreed, also well informed of certain particulars Bonnie never thought she'd come across.

Kai's arms tightened around her – intentional or not Bonnie wasn't entirely sure – and peered up locking in on his eyes feeling his carefree and easygoing spirits radiating off of him until it surrounded her as well like an invisible bubble. Sliding her palms up his stomach over his pecs Bonnie rose onto her toes bringing herself closer but still not eye level to Kai and leaned in so she was a breath away, his gaze flashing to a scorch before closing the distance.

"Oh d'etere jeune et amoureux," the woman's voice cooed coming back into the room and Bonnie stepped back looking over to her as Kai let out a forced sound of laughter. "Si beau."

Bonnie's eyes trailed back over to Kai who looked two shades lighter, glancing between the two and cleared his throat gesturing to the woman. "She found a couple dresses for you."

With her eyebrows still scrunched Bonnie looked back to the right and her face morphed into one of excitement, running over to the four dresses of varying shades of yellow and gold with different styles. Two stood out to her, almost too classic and poised for Bonnie to have the pleasure of wearing and a chill ran down her spine feeling Kai close in behind her.

"These are too stunning for me to pull off, maybe something a little less luxurious."

"Everything you just said in that sentence was incorrect," Kai commented leaning in, hearing his soft sounds of amusement, "try them on and see how they look."

"Now?"

"No, when we get back to Mystic Falls," he said smoothly without missing a beat, Bonnie's smile splitting and turning to shove him lightly enough that he didn't move.

Grabbing one of the dresses Bonnie made her way into the dressing room in back and slid on an extravagant 1700s-era looking dress; the ruffles on the bottom looking strikingly similar to Belle's gown and slid on the matching gloves. The tight corset was the same bright golden yellow and cut straight across her chest with tiny pockets for sleeves. She was a little taken back that it was almost an exact replica but there was something about it – a little too bright and modern – that had her wavering. Needing to go back out to get the other dress Bonnie made her way to the front end watching Kai's Cheshire smile spread from ear to ear.

"Is it terrible?"

"Well look at you; the spitting image of a Disney princess. Ask and you shall receive, apparently. How do you like it?"

"I love it, but – there's still something about it, I don't know. I'm going to try on the other but I have a notion I'm not going to be able to afford this store."

"As a matter of fact, you can," Kai disagreed pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and sliding out a card holding it out for her to take – which she did not. Moving the few steps across the room Kai placed a credit card in her hand and Bonnie's eyes went directly to her name written in the bottom left hand corner.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's your new credit card," he stated like he was talking to a child, "you use it to buy things when you don't have cash on you, which is-"

"Shut up; why is my name on this? I'm not taking your money."

"I know which is why I got you a card so you can spend _your_ money and not make a fuss every time I use mine."

"Absolutely not."

"Oh come on Bon, we're in _France_ , a vacation away from the real world aside from the whole ' _saving your friends_ ' mission. The account's already set up in your name fully stocked in the bank so whatever you want to do with it – it's yours, or we can just continue to use mine."

"You – I –"Bonnie stammered, "I'm not accepting this."

"Then don't use it; or give it to this exuberant shop owner, that will really make her day."

Looking back and forth from the card in her palm to Kai her brain kicked into overdrive tripping over her thoughts and jumbling them making coherent sentences near impossible. Holding out the other dress Bonnie snatched it out of his hand and gritted her teeth on the way back, not even looking at her reflection in the second dress. Ready for round two she stormed her way back out watching Kai's cheeky grin fade and eyebrows rose.

"What?"

"What?" he repeated, "did you look at yourself; how do you like it?"

"Oh… no, I was too wrapped up I guess I forgot," she realized looking down at the bit of yellow lace over her chest.

"Go look in the mirror."

Pivoting and heading back for the dressing room the full length mirror on her right caught her eye and froze, taking in her appearance. This dress didn't look as identical to the original as the first but it was still the same ball gown style of a sleeveless corset and puffy bottom. Instead of a bright yellow the bottom was a shimmering faded gold up to the corset and a thin layer of white lace fell from the corset halfway down, decorated with yellowish-gold etches of flowers and a few scattered balled-up roses with the same gold fabric. The corset was a soft white and the small sleeves cut straight across her biceps, the same lacey material only in matching gold with another small rose directly in the center. There were no long gloves or hair accessories to go with the dress and yet… she felt elegant.

"Magnifique!" the woman clapped coming up beside Bonnie and kissing both of her cheeks.

Turning back towards Kai she could only muster a small smile feeling exposed even though she was fully covered and trailed her eyes until they met his.

"You look beautiful."

Bonnie's hands went to the small space of white feeling her stomach twisting into knots and thought her skin was on fire from the sudden rise in body temperature. Inhaling quick breaths she thanked Kai in one of her sweeter tones and turned heading back for the changing room putting on her regular casualwear.

"I can't get it."

"You're getting it," he remarked and she held out the piece of plastic for him to take back, "you don't even know how much it is."

" _Too much._ "

"Excusez-moi, combien ca coute?"

"267 euros."

"Two hundred and sixty-seven…"

"Euro's."

"So what does that make it in US dollars?"

"Not the same price," Kai said with a bright smile and snatched the card out of her hand giving it to the woman.

"Cut it out!"

"If it makes you feel better just think of it as one of those gift cards you can spend anywhere, and this one's for this spur-of-the-moment trip overseas."

"Merci," the woman said handing over the card and dress wrapped in a plastic covering to Kai and kissed both of his cheeks before he spouted out another line sounding so fluent you would think he's lived here his entire life.

Bonnie had never heard Kai speak in anything other than sarcasm and this new French accent had his voice dropping an octave lower, giving him a rugged and sensual undertone. By the end of the night she had already planned to make conversation with guests knowing he would have to keep it going and Bonnie wouldn't have the distraction of the topic to have her focus stray. Walking out of the small store and ready for the next Kai reached for her wrist in a gentle gesture to stop and stood in front of her, looking around before waving his hand over the dress making it disappear.

"There, that'll make things easier," he smiled and started off again towards the next store.

Bonnie had lost count of how many boutiques, café's, shops, and other people she had come into contact with; the hours flying by as the night rapidly approached and looked out the window of the fancy jewelry shop they stumbled across.

"Look it's already getting dark out."

"And then the real fun will begin," Kai remarked leaning against the glass counter and bumping shoulders with her, "are you excited?"

"I'm anxious, antsy, maybe a little nervous – but excited?" she said through a crooked turn of her lips, "I think that'll kick into gear once I'm there and see everybody dressed to impress."

"Oh that's without a doubt," he smiled and she looked down at the bracelet her eyes kept wandering back to; one of pure simplicity. The white gold box chain was attached through 7 small round diamonds and the chain hung lower after the clasp dangling a small Eiffel Tower. "See something you like?"

"Everything," Bonnie said with brutal honesty, running her fingertips over the glass wishing she could take every piece home with her. "Ready? We still have to find you something to wear."

"Ah yes, the famous blue suit from the 1800s; I can't wait."

Laughing out loud at the thought of what Kai will look like she pivoted and headed for the front door turning left and made it to the next store before realizing Kai wasn't next to her. Spinning in a circle Bonnie looked back to the front entrance and saw him standing in front of it, scanning the crowd before spotting her and waving her back.

"I thought you were beside me."

"You took off too fast, and then I saw that store over there," Kai said pointing diagonal to the right, the front window displaying suits, "figured it was a good spot to check out."

"Those look like new Armani suits; I doubt you'll find what you're looking for."

"You never know," he said in a chipper tone and laced his fingers through hers walking across the street reading the name _Giacobbi_ overhead.

Bonnie wandered over to the mannequins looking over the tailored suits and was startled when she heard Kai's voice behind her only a few minutes later. Turning and taking in the view in front of her Bonnie had to forcefully keep her teeth locked together in fear her jaw would drop open and gasp on command. Disregarding what he was looking for entirely Kai stood in front of her wearing black dress pants, dress shoes, a white button up with the top two undone and opened, and a onyx vest button up over it. There was no tie or coat in sight giving off a vibe of sex appeal, but it was the matching fedora with an onyx ribbon around the brim and buckle on the left that was tilted to the side over his right eye that had Bonnie worried her knees would give out.

"What are you wearing?"

"The most expensive piece of clothing I've ever owned, you like?" Kai said with a curve of his lip and hands outstretched making the fabric grip his muscles tighter, "it comes with the coat and tie but I got halfway through changing and noticed I kind of like it like this."

Bonnie had to take a long calming breath to steady her raging hormones that were one wrong boutique away from taking him in the changing room. First the accent, now the new look – she felt the need to give him another once over scrutinizing if this really was the same person she met in another world.

"And what about your costume for tonight?"

"Oh I'll just make it with a swipe of my hand back at the house," he stated off the shoulder like it had been his plan all along – which it probably was.

Watching Kai mosey back out of sight she heard him speaking to the man at the front desk and appeared a moment later still in the suit. "Where are your clothes?"

"Right here," Kai said lifting his hands of balled up clothing before they poofed from sight, "and now they're back at the place with my coat and tie. You thought I was going to change back into that when I'm looking this good? Oh no, I'm about to be sporting a style of a monumentally different kind; I'm wearing this for the walk home."

"Lovely," Bonnie said in a mock-sweet tone, her body and mind both joining forces to take her down before she could make it back to the apartment. Moving with an extra quickness in her step they weaved through the streets – her intentions slowed down by Kai's hand clasped in hers – but still managed to get back with decent timing. "Okay the party starts in an hour; I think I can get away with soaking in the tub for at least half that amount of time."

"If you go in there you're never getting out."

"I know," she whined, "but I want it so badly. Even the shower seems like it could keep me in there for hours."

"If you go for the open waterfall shower fifteen feet to my left, we'll definitely be in there for hours."

" _We?_ " Bonnie said in a high voice through her laugh, taking her a moment to hear him smoothly slide that in there, "then there's not a chance I'm going to risk that; giant globular tub it is."

Scooting out of his clutches and closing the door behind her before Kai got any farther ideas, Bonnie breathed out a sigh of content looking over the spacious tub as it filled and the water almost poured over the sides when she sank in so deep only her nose and top of her head was out of the water. Time seemed to sleep away in this warm embrace and had to keep her eyes open and active not to risk drifting off and having Kai barge in on her. After what only seemed like minutes Bonnie stepped out of the still warm water, drying off with plush towels and wrapping the same comfortable robe around her.

"You are masquerade ready in that flowing cotton robe," Kai joked still fully clothed lying on the bed, "personally I was preferable to your other choice."

"Then I guess I will rely on your judgment," she nodded playing along, "what would I do without your expertise?"

"Be lost, inevitably," he soothed swinging his legs over and drifted his finger down the bit of space of her chest between the robe. "In any case you would have struck out in today's French-speaking activities."

"You are right about that," Bonnie chuckled and moved to the other side of the bed where her dress was, running her hand over the lace.

"I'll be out in five minutes," Kai said heading for the door and hearing the trickling of the nozzles going.

Bonnie had managed to scrunch and curl her hair with moose and get the dress on in that amount of time but couldn't work the laces behind her, her naked back to the door when she heard it open. "Hey, can you help me?"

"Can do," Kai murmured closing the distance and started to pull the laces farther apart.

"Kai!"

"I know I'm just teasing," Bonnie heard through his smile and went up her back tightening each lace, the corset sucking in everything including her oxygen and making her chest look even bigger as the lace didn't leave much to the imagination. Spinning the bottom of her dress into a twirl Bonnie was immediately met with Kai's naked torso and jumped back a step not seeing the towel through all of the dresses material. "You know I have no outfit to change _into_ yet, right?"

"Yes I know," she brushed off as the memories ignited off his nakedness that close to her from behind, "so let's see it already."

"Alright, here goes." Closing his eyes the line between Kai's eyebrows appeared and snapped his fingers, Bonnie's eyes widening at the transformation he underwent in the blind of an eye.

Kai was wearing what looked to be the exact same outfit she knew so well but better suited for a _dark prince_ ; the shade of blue closer to imperial and the gold lapels and vest matched the bottom of the dress. The only thing that made the suit really stand out that it was from another time is the puffy white cuffs and ascot that rested on his chest. This outfit was nothing compared to the one she just witnessed that she would be dreaming about later, but Kai didn't look nearly as ridiculous as Bonnie had hoped for.

"You clean up pretty nice, _Mr. Beast; leader of the coven._ "

"Mm why thank you, I believe that makes you the _Bon of the Ball_."

Bonnie couldn't hold in her laughter, the strictness of her outfit only letting her get it out in pants, "I think that's the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me."

"No, that's the cheesiest thing I've ever said, period. It must be the outfit."

"Mhm must be," she said amused and slid on a pair of gold heels with straps going across her foot and up her ankle; footwear that she would be jealous to see anyone in. Not that it really mattered, seeing how the shoes were hidden underneath the puffy skirt but the added height brought her eye-level to Kai and that made them a two-for-one deal Bonnie couldn't pass up on. Looking around to make sure she had everything she let out a unsettled sound forgetting the most vital piece of the costume _._ "Kai we forgot the masks!"

"One of the perks of having magic on our side; how do you want it to look?"

"Hm," she pondered, "gold, not a full porcelain mask but the metal ones with spaces in between and designs so you can see my skin through it, and a little bit of flashy-ness."

Closing his eyes and humming he ran his fingers over the side of Bonnie's face and then the other, doing it once more as a smile starting to spread and she smacked his hand away knowing he was messing with her. Laughing out once Kai rubbed his hands together and connected them so the sides of his index fingers touched and palms were facing down, scanning over her hands as a masquerade mask materialized.

"How's that?"

"Kai, this is gorgeous," Bonnie observed looking over the fine details of metal swirls connecting the mask but leaving open spaces all over and smiled wider at the bonus of tiny diamonds trailing down either side of the nose as well as at the bottom underneath the eyes, and a few scattered at the top including one at the tip which would be in the middle of her forehead. "I love it."

"I'm glad, now my turn," he repeated the same motion and slid another mask over her now empty hands, this one looking drastically different from hers.

Where Bonnie's mask covered both of her eyes, Kai's made of porcelain only fully covered his right eye down to his lower cheek and across half of his nose above the other eyelid as well as the whole forehead. Bonnie's royal and stylish look was the contrast to his dark and sinister approach, reminding her of the _Phantom of the Opera's_ mask only much better. A large diamond shape from the bottom cheek, out to the bridge of his nose, up to his forehead and over to his ear was painted the shame shimmering imperial blue looking like a night sky in the light surrounding the eye socket and already knew how vibrant Kai's eyes will be when he puts it on. The same design was over what little space was left above the top of the other socket and a gold stitching separated the rest of the blacked out mask. Kai's grin spread deviously and took it out of her hands, holding it up to his face and Bonnie's skin flushed in a sheen layer of sweat seeing the wild beast within gazing back at her.

"This is going to be a wild night," Bonnie let out through a shaky break and Kai lowered the mask, the cloud of carnality lifting with it.

"I can't wait. I'm sure you didn't read many comics as a kid but _Deadpool_ has a mask with a similar design, and this makes him look like a pantywaist."

"A what?"

"A lesser man," he concluded and her smile widened, "oh and I have another trick up my sleeve."

Waving his hand over the porcelain a glimmer appeared in its wake falling onto the mask before evaporating, repeating the same motion over hers.

"Flashy," she commented.

"I put a glamour spell over the masks; when we're not wearing them everyone will see our faces but as soon as they're on guests will see someone different."

"Will we see still be able to see each other?"

"Try it out," he said with coyness and she lifted the metal to her eyes, Kai copying her movement and smiling when his devious grin and luminous eyes shined back at her. "I think we're good."

Gathering all of the essentials needed for tonight – which didn't happen to be much seeing how most of the grunt work is coming from both of their concentration and recollection of past spells – they both made their way to the front door and set off for the real reason they were here.

xx

"You have to be kidding me," Bonnie let out as she looked out her window to a building so extensive she assumed the only castle-sized monuments built like these where within the hidden underworld of royalty – and she may not be far off.

"It's something, right?"

Before making it to the building the limousine - curtesy of Kai's insistence – had to travel around a massive oval garden with paths that people could walk through and a fountain in the center. The sheer length in size from left to right had Bonnie intimidated not only about not finding Caroline and Stefan but getting lost along the way and never finding her way out. The architecture across the front of the building was breathtaking, designed so that the three-story chateau walls turned in on each side twice until you reached the door; reminding Bonnie of having to walk down an endless hallway with the sides closing in on you until you eventually reached the end. Lights all along the roof gave life to the building during the nighttime and Bonnie could already see the trimmings of gold etched along the buildings windows, moldings, and pillars.

Pulling up to the front Kai stepped out of the limo first putting his mask in place and reaching his hand out, Bonnie placing hers within it and stepping out into the crisp night breeze. Placing her mask over her head and tying it in place she slid her hand through Kai's arm and scanned through the crowd of people mingling making their way up the steps and through the front door. The interior was exactly what Bonnie had imagined when she heard she was going to an extravagant mansion and her expectations only skyrocketed when she got a taste of what was to come from the outside. There was a true sense of _Renaissance_ in the air as they wandered through the halls, the color schemes of red, black and gold seeming very fitting; along with the ancient artifacts, 1700's construction and design, and different style staircases around every corner.

"I am never going to find them in this place," Bonnie concluded looking over barely recognizable faces underneath an array of masquerade disguises.

"We'll find them; places like these are notorious for big dance numbers and group dining and things of that sort, they're bound to pop up."

"And until then?"

"We enjoy our night," he smiled looking at her eye-level on his right and slid his hand over hers with a quick squeeze.

Bonnie had tried to take a note out of the _Kai Parker handbook_ and not stress over every miniscule detail, enjoying being in such an awe-inspiring place such as this and committing it all to memory. Although she wasn't able to understand 90% of the casual conversations going around Bonnie was more than willing to include Kai into them whenever possible, the sound of his raspy voice rolling over the language satiating something within her that she wasn't aware was there prior to today. Without registering two hours had passed by in a blur and Bonnie's friends were still nowhere to be found – the fact that they've been walking around all of this time and haven't gone through the same room twice a testament to the sheer magnitude of this building, and her nerves were spiking higher over each unknown face that passes her by.

Hearing commotion in the next room Bonnie walked through one of the open glass doors with Kai close behind and her appreciation for this palace bumped up another level, locating the ballroom. The distance across from where she stood to the stream of archway doors leading to the backyard was no more than fifteen yards, a vast contrast against the length of almost two football fields flanking either side of them. Overheard a beautiful piece of art was painted in blues and gold across the cathedral ceiling aligned with low-hung diamond chandeliers lit with candles, the color scheme continuing down the walls with a gold reflective surface under Bonnie's feet. Gold statues and brass artifacts were scattered throughout the perimeter and the room was pungent with classic sophistication, it feeling alive with its inhabitants and the static nerves coursing through Bonnie's veins were charging her with electricity causing her arms and legs to shake. Scanning from right to left one face blended into the next and her vision began to blur, Bonnie's racing heart quickening her breathing and felt like she was hyperventilating; the same overwhelming feeling overcoming her at the party when she first came back home.

" _Not again_ ," she whispered squeezing her eyes shut silently commanding her body to become less tense.

"I think I found them," Kai voiced beside her and Bonnie's eyes darted open following his line of view to the far end on the left.

A man facing them was dressed in an outfit similar to Kai's but a deep shade of plum with a square black mask blocking most of his face down past his cheekbones but Bonnie could still spot out Stefan's hair in a crowded room. As her feet propelled her forward she could feel Kai's hand resting against the back of the corset and kept her eyes on Caroline's low braid and blue ribbon beckoning her to turn around. Spinning away from Stefan and back in Caroline's light laughter trickled down the long ballroom hall and Bonnie picked up her pace, Kai's hands drifting to the front of the corset and tugging back halting her movements.

"What?"

"Run the plan by me one more time."

"Kai they're _right there-_ "

"Humor me."

Gritting her teeth Bonnie moved in closer so no one could hear and Kai slid his hand around her back. "We are going to divide and conquer; first by getting them in separate rooms and then laying on the magical charm. As long as we keep our masks on they won't know who we are and anonymity is key. I'll find a way to get Care out of this room and lock her in another using a spell to seal the doorway, and then I'm going to break her down with anything I can find locked away in her mind. When it works-"

"If."

" _When_ it works, she will be the one to pull Stefan back."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because he made the choice to turn it off because of Caroline; she has a way into his heart and will be able to reach him."

"Yeah but he doesn't care about anything including how your friend feels about him right now."

"It doesn't change the fact that Stefan might be in love with her, and if he is he'll come back to her."

"Ever the romantic," he said amused, "but you've never lived on the wild side; it can get pretty addicting."

"Well I should know, I'm talking to the expert; and yet here you stand in a priceless home with a herd of partygoers and you haven't heavily maimed or murdered a single one."

"Ah but the night is far from over. So while you're doing some hoodoo hallucinations I'm supposed to keep the ripper distracted?"

" _Stefan ,_ and yes. Nothing too severe, you don't need to pull out your witch card or do something impulsive and get yourself involved and in too deep – please don't do that. Just… keep an eye on him, you know which room is spelled already so do your best to steer him anywhere else."

"Sounds easy enough, and what about after you do this trip down memory lane that either works and Caroline's all bubbly sunshine or doesn't and goes to kill you again?"

"I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," she said lightly and Kai's nose flared, staring into a pair of bright eyes through an otherwise unreadable expression. "It's going to work Kai; I have a good feeling about this. Do you trust me?"

The sentence left her lips before Bonnie was consciously aware of what she was asking, her breath catching in her throat and limbs went stiff looking over Kai's face. It was infuriating enough that he was a master of deception when it came to his outer appearance – not able to see through the façade until he wanted you to, but there have been a few occasions when Bonnie's gotten him to lower the mask and show her the person he really is; the irony staring straight back at her through a hooded gaze. Replaying the words her mind wandered back to a faint conversation of Kai saying the only person he's ever put his trust into was Jo – which ended horrendously – and the tension kept Bonnie's feet fastened to the floor watching him through wide eyes as his expression faltered, curving up one side of his lip and tilting his head.

"Enough not to let the ripper eat me?" Kai questioned breathing in sharply through his teeth with an over exaggerated sound, "you see how snazzy I'm looking in this ascot? I'm practically a three-course meal."

The relief flooded through Bonnie as a rolling of laughter broke through her uncertainty easing out her rigid muscles with each exhale. Running her hands up his chest Bonnie wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him into an embrace and rested her chin against his shoulder.

"If everything goes well then this should take a half an hour – hour at most. If it's possible stay in here since I'll be close-by but if you can't then stay within range or else I'll never be able to find you again."

"An hour, hmm; I hope I'm his type," Kai joked lightening the mood.

"Be careful – and don't be an imbecile."

"Is that you worrying that I'll be okay?" he chuckled leaning back to look at her.

"And if it is?"

Kai turned his back to Caroline and Stefan lifting his mask, Bonnie's brows furrowing before he tilted her head up underneath her chin and leaned down feeling his lips glide softly over hers. The gentleness to his touch had Bonnie's mind beginning to drift but then Kai leaned back and it was over before it began.

"Try not to get yourself killed."

The parallel of his sentence to hers had the smile spreading across her face before she could contain it, the light chiming of bells and people scuffling behind Kai drawing her attention away. Most of the guests started moving to the perimeter where they also stood and Bonnie wiggled out of Kai's arms pulling him with her towards the center. Two lines began forming of _Beauties_ and _Beasts_ from one end of the ballroom down to the other and quickly put together what was happening, attempting to jump backwards out of range and stumbling into Kai's chest.

"We should get out of the way."

"We could, or…" sliding his hand behind her back and propelling her farther down the line Kai stopped short and pivoted Bonnie by the hips standing her between a man and woman and stood opposite her, the broad smile on his face completely visible with the mask on.

" _I don't know the steps!_ " Bonnie whisper yelled in a harsh voice, looking from Kai to the girl on his left and pausing, Caroline's vibrant eyes sparkling through a similar styled mask in a powdered shimmery white; noting Stefan was directly on her left. Bonnie immediately noticed and loved that both of them had chosen their two favorite outfits; her in gold and Care in blue. Instead of the white long sleeve and apron giving it a ratty look, this one was fit for a fairytale with the same tight bodice and puffy bottom of a shimmering cyan blue and thick spaghetti straps.

"Just follow what everyone else is doing," he whispered back with a wink, the music beginning signaling the couples to all tilt their heads down or curtsy in greeting.

The couples on both sides of them began first; Stefan moving behind Bonnie and coming up on her right side to meet Caroline in the middle – who had just done the same thing on the opposite side – and clasping hands, staring into each other's eyes before spinning into their original place. Kai shrugged curving his lips down in an _'easy enough_ ' gesture, shaking her head as a smile threatened to return. Stepping back and moving to the right Bonnie met Kai in the middle, eyes darting back and forth between the one that's enclosed by the mask and the other that's mostly visible before twirling and finding her place.

Caroline's gaze locked in on Bonnie and she froze, her friend nodding and smiling before taking a step towards her and she copied her movements pivoting in the middle and moving back a step now standing next to Kai. The boys did the same and they ended up in their original positions but different spots; groups of four immediately linking hands and twirling one step at a time in a circle before parting back into pairs for a brief moment to hold hands and get back into formation. The steps started over and Bonnie was more fluent the second time around, light on her feet and feeling invigorated partaking in a dance that is over 300 years old.

This time it was their turn to go first with something different and Kai reached out for her right hand with his, sliding his left behind her back and taking casual steps down the line gazing in the other's expression. Glancing to the girl in front of them when they turned Bonnie lifted her left arm bending it and holding it out beside her like she was waiting for someone to give her a high-five and walked back, staring across to Kai while the next group went. Stefan and Caroline stepped into the middle, reaching out and resting their palms against the other's stomach with opposite shoulders touching and walking around each other in a circle half a dozen times. Ready to do the same Bonnie could feel his touch sizzling through the bodice as the heat burned in his eyes, the intensity almost causing her to trip over her footing and steadied herself stepping backwards and doing a curtsy to Kai's bow signifying the end of the dance.

"I did it!"

"And you didn't even fall on your face, I'm so proud," Kai oozed with fake-tears of joy.

"Well aren't you two a nice change of pace; you're actually entertaining," Caroline pepped walking up beside her, " _love_ your dress."

"Thank you, yours is amazing too."

"And that mask," she remarked turning and pointing at Kai, "that has to be the scariest one I've seen tonight."

"I think it's great," Stefan stated, "got the flare and hint of terror; everything a masquerade is made of."

"I knew there had to be someone here that would appreciate this masterpiece; looks like I found who I'll be conversing with over this monumental letdown of a party."

Kai's eyes flashed over to Bonnie before starting up a discussion and Bonnie knew this was her opportunity, thinking quickly and convincing Caroline to help her find a bathroom.

-x—x—x—

Kai had made it a full twenty minutes before Stefan's suspicions started to spike which was fifteen longer than what he had expected. Similar to this new version of Caroline, the ripper seemed to be fascinating to talk to with a quick wit that even Kai could appreciate.

"I can't place it, but something about you seems familiar."

"I have one of those faces."

"That might be true if I could see more than a fraction of it," Stefan observed, taking his own mask off as soon as the girls left.

"Or it could be the voice but they're both pretty average."

"What did you say your name is?"

"K-"he started and tripped over his name, going with the first one with the same sound that came to mind attaching on a last name from his coven, "Chris Cooper, and yours?"

"Stefan; so where's your girlfriend?"

"Oh she's not, we're – it's complicated."

"You brought a girl you aren't dating to Paris?" Stefan asked skeptically heading for one of the doors and Kai cursed under his breath, following him into the hall the girls disappeared to.

"She really likes Masquerades. What about you, how long have you two been together?"

"That is a long story for another time," he said and nodded a goodbye starting off in the opposite direction.

"Did I hit a sore subject?" Kai asked hot on his heels, "let's see if I can take a guess; uhh you've been on and off? No that's not it. She wants a commitment but you just can't imagine settling down. Am I getting closer? Okay last guess; you care about her too much to be with her."

"You know what I find interesting?" Stefan wondered turning to face him, "The way you placed yourself next to us in line and within minutes separated Caroline and me, now doing your best to keep us apart. While I can appreciate a good con you would either have to be one of the most idiotic people on Earth to pick me in a building of a thousand… or you have a reason to."

"Listen, I'm just trying to kill time until our girls come back from getting lost in this palace," Kai reasoned taking a casual step closer, "and I don't know anyone else here so I figured I'd get to know the friendly couple beside us that started up a conversation."

"Take off your mask."

"Why?"

"So I can see your face."

"It's not nearly as captivating as this design."

"Last chance," Stefan smiled and _vamp-sped_ to him grabbing the back of his hair and smashing his face into a marble archway shattering the porcelain mask, a little impressed with the quick moves and impulsiveness the other Salvatore possesses.

Knowing his cover was blown Kai blew out a breath and looked at the shattered pieces near his feet, turning as he spoke, "you know I really liked that mask."

The moment Stefan's eyes connected with his he grabbed Kai by the lapels and threw him backwards crashing through bedroom doors and sliding across the room. Looking around at the immense overkill of gold aligning the floor, interior, and molding on the ceiling Kai went with the first thought that came to mind and raised his hand to the entrance, muttering _Vis Porta_ to put up the same boundary spell Bonnie was telling him about a moment before Stefan came barreling through.

"Kai you are a long way from home – technically you don't even have a home but let's call Mystic Falls your _'temporary living environment_ '."

"I'm okay with that."

"Of course I say _temporary_ because if you don't start talking I'm going to torture you until your last breath and take the whole Gemini Coven down with you," Stefan smiled.

"Well that's not very nice – or festive."

"Where's Bonnie?"

"Hmm?"

"The _Bennett Witch_ you strolled in here with to get to us; where is she?"

"Bathroom?" he guessed rising to his feet and sitting on the thick gold baluster banister separating the bed from the rest of the room, "or maybe they're off exploring, I for one could see that appeal. So I have to ask, why Paris? Are you a closet romantic, enjoying the _City of Lights_ with yours truly and hitting all of the hot spots? I mean why not, right; you seem to be the only one that has the right idea to take advantage of being able to travel anywhere."

"Caroline loves a good Masquerade," Stefan mimicked with the same rueful grin, "but being tricked? Well, you saw how well that ended last time. Are you sure you two thought this whole plan out? I mean you decided to split up; your first mistake."

"Figured we'd make it more of a fair fight, level out the playing field," he interjected.

"You stuck the more powerful witch with the weaker vampire," Stefan ticked off on his finger and Kai's jaw ticked, "and left an inexperienced kid who just recently got back into the game with me; honestly was any of that given more than a moment's thought?"

 _Not really_ , Kai mused as a smile spread, "we all have our crosses to bear."

"So you're not going to tell me where they are?"

"Have you seen this place? Your guess is as good as mine," he remarked drumming his fingers beside him against the railing considering his options as Stefan backtracked for the door. "I'm more of a visual person; I'd need to get a good look first."

An inch away from the entrance Stefan came to a standstill, moving his hand up the doorframe into the open space of the entrance and pressing against an invisible force-field. Letting out a sound of amusement he turned and leaned back against the entrance, crossing his legs.

"And that was your final mistake."

Sliding his hand into his pocket Kai threw his palm out halting Stefan's movements and pulled backwards as his phone went soaring into his hand, a fingerprint lit up and flashing red in the center of the screen. The spell they had found that was the closest to what Kai had experienced was essentially the equivalent of a hallucination where your perception believes the illusion you're seeing is real; unable to be consciously aware of the reality that's happening around them. Still, the red flashing made him wary enough to magically zap the screen shattering it and dropped it by his feet.

"Starting now?"

Stefan moved in a blur and Kai moved his hand in front of him, using Stefan's movements to swing him over his head crashing into the wall behind him and falling on the side table before hitting the ground. Taking a few quick steps away from the gold baluster his back was to the entrance when he heard footsteps entering the room and Stefan's words of protest falling on deaf ears.

"You were supposed to stay on the _other_ side of the door."

"But welcome to the party," Kai said with a gesture to the massive room of royalty and looking back to another _Belle_ and _Beast_ tattered from the 1500s in blood-soaked costumes. "Though it seems like you were having some fun of your own."

"I pinged Care's phone and she's close; there's a witch inside that needs to be taken care of."

Kai's fist clenched glancing right towards Stefan and smiled as he became paralyzed from head to toe without oxygen. "What my fellow Beastly companion meant by that is that there's someone _taking care_ of things and everything should be wrapped up relatively soon. Oh and also you guys kind of ended up with the short straw on this side of the door because I'm not nearly as merciful."

Both took that as their cue to charge him and Kai lifted his left palm pushing forward and blowing them backwards over the coffee table and loveseat. _Vampire Belle_ was up first whipping shards of glass at his face and body and he waved his hand carelessly watching them all fall in front of his feet breaking more with the impact. A large object blocking out the light of the chandelier caught him off guard as the loveseat came barreling over him to crush him and took his focus off of Stefan using both hands to stop the heavy piece of furniture hurtling it back in their direction.

A sharp pain in his neck had Kai yelling out through gritted teeth that turned louder when he heard the loud crack of his right shoulder dislocating from the pressure of being forced forward with his arm twisted behind his back and fell to his knees. Looking forward to the girl closing the distance Kai glanced overhead and flicked his left wrist as the glass chandelier with candles came crashing down, hitting her at the perfect moment. Laughing through the pain his left hand hovered in front of Stefan's head on the right side of his neck and he unlatched falling backwards in pain as aneurysms started to burst in his brain. Breathing out sharply Kai rose to his feet and squeezed his right hand, the pain from his shoulder apparent but was still able to use it and twisted his forearm aiming his palm at the other guy and muttering ' _aneurisma CREPITUS'._ The man cried out in pain and reached for his collar, sounding like he was choking and closed his eyes shaking his head an instant before it exploded as his body fell to the ground.

"Oh man, did you see that?" Kai let out through his laughter looking to Stefan holding his head on his left and the girl struggling to get out from under all the glass on his right. "It's so good knowing parts of the old me are still here just slightly dormant under a pile of humanity. I've always wanted to do that to someone – is that weird? Does that say something about my psyche?"

A loud wailing cut off his rambling and felt the impact of _Belle on steroids_ close-lining him to the ground WWF style. The sound of his chuckling set her off even more and picked him up throwing him halfway across the room landing near the headless body and let out a sound of disgust.

"You killed him!" she shrieked already on him again and Kai pressed his hand over her eyes imagining fire as she scrambled backwards against the floor, her eyes blazing red as she scratched at them.

Kai had just enough time to repeat the chant when Stefan snapped his left wrist and shouted out a ' _vatos_ ' through his torment watching everything erupt around them blowing them both backwards.

"This really didn't have to turn into a standoff of who has the bigger source of power – which we both know is me, let's just take a breather before someone gets killed."

"Other than the two whose heads you just made explode?" Stefan gritted moving to get back to his feet, Kai struggling to do the same as every muscle in both of his arms were locked and searing with sharp pangs.

"Yeah I'm talking about people of importance here, not your lackey's."

"This is my final act of kindness; let me out, and I won't drain every last drop of blood from your body. Which is a deal I don't even want to put out there because a witch's blood is sweeter than anyone else's – it's like a drug – and a coven leader's has that extra kick from being connected to so many others. It adds that taste of zest; like a salted pretzel dipped in chocolate."

"Great, now I'm hungry," Kai mustered up in his best voice of merriment, "now that you mention it I was walking around this house for at least an hour and didn't stumble across one kitchen; that's bad masquerading service."

"Wasn't your whole vendetta against your father surviving at all costs? Feel free to jump in if I'm missing information but you _are_ the one that went around the house killing one sibling at a time saving the best for last, all to merge with your twin-"

"And become leader of the Gemini Coven, yes – I've heard this story before if you want to skip to the end."

"And not reflect on every gruesome act you've done to save yourself?" Stefan asked with a head tilt then shrugged, "okay. But I don't know what you'd consider the end of that story; when you ended up in the prison world, or the moment we find ourselves in now."

"I just meant the end of your speech; I think we both know this isn't going to be either of our last days."

"You're putting everything you've worked for up until now at risk… for what – a girl?" Stefan concluded and howled with laughter. "That merge really messed you up, didn't it?"

"To put it lightly," Kai agreed and flicked his wrist snapping Stefan's leg at the knee, and then the other, watching him collapse to the ground. "But it did give me these kick-ass powers."

"Don't!" Stefan roared and Kai followed his eye-line to yet another overdressed man and woman hovering in front of the doorway, "Caroline's in trouble; kill the witch if you have to."

A burst of violent uncontrolled rage overcame Kai and forced his dislocated shoulder to raise his arm straight in front of him roaring out an expletive as the shocks of pain ran down his back and up his neck and zoned in on his targets snarling out ' _incendia_ '. First the gentleman quickly followed by his lady lit up in flames from their feet and trailed up their legs, shrieks and cries echoing off the walls and they took off running disappearing from sight. Looking to his left Stefan wasn't in his slumped heap on the ground and scanned his surroundings before his dislocated arm was yanked up behind him.

" _Mot_ -" Kai began that got muffled out by Stefan wrapping the strand of gold rope from the curtains between his teeth, forcing his head left to give him easier access to his neck.

"It looks like I'm going to have to find Caroline myself and since you won't lift the spell, your death should do the trick," Kai heard before the sharpness pierced through his jugular.

-x—x—x—

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked as they turned down the hall leading to the room.

"I thought I passed a bathroom in this hallway, down there on the right."

Having Caroline leading the way they made it to the end of the door and she swung the double doors open in a grand gesture walking into the spelled bedroom. This room seemed vastly different from many others she passed, more muted and dainty in pastel pinks, beige, and white; tying it to the rest of the building with gold accentuates spread throughout the walls and furniture.

"It's not in here."

"I know," Bonnie stated stepping through the entrance as she swung around to face her.

"Who are you?"

"Your best friend," Bonnie smiled lifting the mask.

"Damn it Bonnie, what are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop a catastrophe from happening the only way I know how."

"You can't _save me_ ," she snapped, "because I'm not lost. I know exactly what I'm doing and in complete control; leave, before that changes."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You also didn't come here alone," Caroline said with a raise of her eyebrow and eyes flashed with the thrill of gossip. "Did Kai take you to Paris?"

"He didn't _take me_ anywhere; we both came to find you, wherever that happened to be."

"I guess ' _followed you'_ would have been a better description seeing how you'd be the only reason for Kai to come here too. Wow," she let out with a low whistle, "you've got that sociopath whipped."

"Wrong – all of that," Bonnie rebutted with a shake of her head and looked at Care's eyes shining bright, the flare of her scandalous self almost believable if she didn't know her better.

"Oh come on Bon it's just us girls, you can admit you think he's sexy," Caroline encouraged with a wide smile but Bonnie held her ground. "I might even humor you and hear you out over why we're here if you're honest with me."

Tilting her head from side to side with a knowing grin Bonnie looked over her friend's expression and clucked her tongue before letting out a nervous laugh. "He's gorgeous; I thought I was in trouble before the merge happened."

"There she is! Now how hard was that – don't you feel so much better now? Like a weight's been lifted letting out that bout of truthfulness to your best friend since childhood, who has eyes… and has seen you two in a room together."

"I think you have the gift of imagining whatever you believe, Care."

"I wouldn't completely reject that statement, but sometimes I don't need my imagination to do the work when I have the live show. What's going on between you two – why don't you want to tell anyone? Is it serious, has it been going on the whole time; are you afraid of what everyone will say? I would be too if I was in your position after the things I've heard some of them say but who cares, life is short. Seriously… I mean Stefan could be killing Kai right now for all we know, or vice versa, that's the tragedy of it all; you have to enjoy the little things as they come."

"That's good advice," Bonnie said with sincerity, "but why don't we switch the hot seat for a few minutes."

"But this topic is so much more juicy," Care whined.

"Tell you what; if you do something I really want you to do, then I'll do the same. Just think about that for a second before you answer, you can find out some really riveting details with this deal."

"And what would that something be? Hmm let me guess; could it be ' _flip my humanity switch on_ _for 300_ '?"

" _Ding ding ding,_ " Bonnie sing-songed, "and on the first attempt."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"But it is; it's just a matter of _how_ , and this way you'll have something that will make me equally if not more traumatized by the end of it."

"Tell me how good of a kisser he is; and this transformation, have you gotten to see the _before and after_ up close and personal? So how far-"

"So many questions that could have potential answers if only there were something you could do to speed up the process."

"If only."

Bonnie breathed in deep knowing she was going to have to do this the hard way and looked at her surroundings, making herself comfortable on the bed to her left. Leaning back and moving around the pillows Caroline watched her skeptically from five feet away, Bonnie leaning over to the glass of water on the bedside table and taking a sip.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to convince you?"

"Afraid you wasted your time," Caroline concluded sitting on the end of the bed near her feet and Bonnie's stomach fluttered with anxiety knowing it was show time. "But I'd like to think the _romantic trip to Paris_ wasn't squandered."

"Not yet," Bonnie agreed leaning forward and wrapped her hands around Caroline's wrists, " _constringitur_."

The gasp that left her lips let Bonnie know the spell to freeze her body was enacted. " _What the hell?_ "

"See you said there's no way to convince you but I just think we haven't found the right way yet, don't you agree? So here's what I've come up with," she said dipping both of her index and middle fingers into the water and placing them against Caroline's temples. "If you won't turn it on willingly because you don't want to see the chaos of life, maybe bombarding you with every memory and emotion you _should_ be experiencing will cause the flip to switch all on its own."

"That's a long shot, and you're out of your mind."

"I'm willing to go to some pretty questionable places to keep everyone I love safe."

"That's a tricky trait to have so close to your heart, you could get yourself killed – oh wait," Caroline retorted snickering.

"That's not how tonight is going to end."

 _Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus. Per menta mi heava cor anmina. Pontem Praesidio. Anchora Immortalibus._

Closing her eyes Bonnie began the long journey of fighting against Caroline's subconscious to gain control as the _Mind Breaching Spell_ burrowed deeper. The ritual was used to allow a witch to breach someone's conscious mind and invade their memories, warping or amplifying them as the sorcerer pleased. Bonnie wasn't looking to change anything but heightening Caroline's every overly expressed sentiment was a definite, starting from the very beginning. Kai had clued her in better about what he had gone through after the merge and it was essentially like watching a movie from childhood to present day through a new perspective – one Bonnie was willing to enforce on Caroline without hesitation.

Beginning with happy times of their childhood she began the decent through Caroline's life, picking and scratching at bits of recollections breaking them loose until they played out in front of each of their eyes coated in affection or devastation. Making sure to amp up every major moment in her life Bonnie paused on when Care's father left stirring up those old feelings of abandonment before reminiscing over the love and passion she felt during both of her relationships with Matt and Tyler, reminding her of how strongly she can still feel over the ones closest to her. Pulling at more loose ends the horrifying fear of death flashed across her vision seeing Caroline getting murdered by Katherine and becoming a vampire; using every bout of terror and confusion against her, throwing in the deaths she's racked up along the way.

A whimper escaped Caroline's throat and she pressed forward feeling in her gut that it was working, conjuring up every time she's discovered Bonnie died and a tear slid down her cheek and throat tightened experiencing the heartbreak and mourning Care has suffered through on her behalf. A weight lifted from her chest replaying all of the times of sheer blissfulness when she discovered Bonnie was still alive, smiling through her tears observing their warm embraced reunions and words of endearment. A clear image of Klaus appeared and she ripped off the bandage letting the flood spill through like a _Klaus Mikaelson kaleidoscope_ ; Bonnie seeing the true relationship between the two that happened when no one else was around. The intimacy, the development from enemies to something much more, and the raw passion were all eerily similar to Bonnie's current lifestyle choices who also happens to have a certain _ex-villainous_ vibe with identical traits to the darkest and most damaged Mikaelson.

Progressing from one love to the next Stefan moved front and center flashing in bright lights and was able to move through their entire relationship with ease; starting with that first day of school sophomore year to the night before the rave when Stefan spilled his guts and let her know every detail he felt about her – and how impassioned he felt them. Every longing touch, stare, kiss, and words of affection were trickling through Care's mind playing out slowly to absorb each gesture and got a hidden glimpse into their personal lives seeing with her own eyes what they felt for one another was genuine.

Taking the last tragic turn Bonnie opened the wound of her parents dying; first the father that she had already lost once when she was a child to finding him bled out in a hospital room. What's worse wasn't even the death itself but what she had to endure when her father discovered she was a vampire and thought he could torture it out of her. In an ironic twist of fate he was then turned from having vampire blood in his system to save his life and Caroline had to stand by idly as he chose to leave this world – and her – for the final time. Blowing out a deep exhale Bonnie pulled loose the final piece of the puzzle; Sheriff Forbes.

A lifetimes worth of moments started to pass by; some going through in a blur while other's slowed down or stopped completely to reflect on. Liz and Caroline were each other's rock – being the only constant and source of true love in their lives – and the look into their relationship solidified what Bonnie had always believed. Replaying her mom's death was one of the worst things she's had to do because she can feel the heartache and agony so crushing she thought her chest was going to collapse under the weight. Bonnie had hoped that experiencing the pain that she so desperately ran away from and seeing that she was strong enough to survive it would push Caroline over the edge and snap her back to reality, but it seemed like she needed one final push and Bonnie only had one play left. The connection let her know that Care was on the edge leaving Bonnie with full reign over her mind and able to transfer her own thoughts telekinetically; the images forming of Bonnie searching the house the day after Caroline ran and coming across a note left behind.

 _Hello sweetheart,_

 _I'm sitting here watching another episode of 'Friends' and thought this was a nice time to write you a little something to be able to look back on whenever you need to. I want you to know more than anything how proud I am that you are my daughter; I was blessed by an Angel the day you entered my life and I have been nothing but grateful each and every day. You have taught me what being a strong woman means – someone filled with such a bright light even while they are surrounded by darkness – and I pray that I have been able to teach you half of the things you've opened my eyes to. You are a beacon of hope to every life you've touched, Caroline – truly a gift from above, and I believe in my heart the light within you will always shine through against any tragedy you have to endure. I've lived my life honey, and it was better than any fantasy I could have imagined; don't let anything stop you from living yours to the fullest. I love you, baby – always carry that with you._

 _Love,_

 _Mom_

A loud sob broke through Bonnie's blurry vision and blinked causing tears to roll down her cheeks and looked forward to Caroline's bloodshot eyes as she tried to gasp in a breath. Pulling her into Bonnie's arms she let out a sigh of relief squeezing her friend tight with the knowledge that she was back to her real self, the joy practically pouring out of her body. Even with Kai's help neither was able to come across anything that could take away the pain the same way flipping a humanity switch could, but he did find one revolving around grief. The spell reminded Kai of acting as a trigger - zapping the person's mind, and now Bonnie wasn't able to see it any other way. This enchantment worked by attacking the negative and sorrowing thoughts when they began to come forward and coated them with meaningful moments, soothing the mind. Swiping off the bracelet that was a birthday present from her mom that she always wears, Bonnie forewarned her a moment before slicing Care's finger and dripping the blood over the silver chain.

 _Asinta Mulaf Hinto, Sho Bala_

A puff of smoke emerged out of the droplets of blood signifying its complexion and Bonnie clasped it back around her wrist, Caroline's anguished sounds easing from wailing to weeping after a couple minutes and was finally able to catch her breath.

"I-I-I…" Caroline stuttered and Bonnie shushed her in a soothing tone.

"You did it Care – you came back, that's all that matters. Everything else comes after your safety and being in your right frame of mind, the rest you can get through and you have all of us by your side."

"I ruined Stefan's life."

"Stefan's had too long of a lifetime for any one moment to be able to make that much of an impact; it's a bump in the road. And if anything I'm sure he has been having an absolute blast in this laidback mindset so I don't think he's holding any grudges."

"But the way I made him turn it off - oh my God you and Elena," Caroline sniveled lifting her head to look at her face, "Bonnie I'm so sorry. I know you have no right to believe me but I was never planning to hurt you, I swear."

"I believe you," Bonnie expressed feeling her heart swell up and pound seeing the remorse and embarrassment in her friends teary eyes.

"I've made such a mess out of all of this and now I'm on another continent with the guy I like and my best friend me because you were forced to chase me – wait did you say Kai was here too?"

"Yeah," she smiled before the expression froze searching frantically for her phone, "oh no - Kai. I don't know how long we've been gone I have to go find him."

"Of course," Caroline nodded wiping under her eyes and Bonnie copied her movements, "I can't… I don't know if I can face Stefan yet. I actually have an idea forming to try and make up for what I did so he has to believe that this whole plan didn't work."

"I can do that," Bonnie agreed and they tied up all of the details and loose-ends before lowering the boundary shield and splitting off in different directions.

Going down the flight of stairs as quickly as her heels would take her Bonnie stormed back into the ballroom still engulfed with houseguests and weaved throughout them, not finding a sinister mask anywhere and went back out the same door. The piercing cries from a man and woman around the corner had Bonnie running the short distance to them and gasped at the two balls of fire running straight towards her. Pressing her body into the wall the two ran a few feet past her before falling to their knees and collapsing forward, turning her head left towards the direction they came from and sprinted the short distance stopping short at the set of broken double doors.

"Kai!" Bonnie called out at the sight in front of her; Kai on his knees with a rope around his mouth looking bruised and broken with Stefan behind him twisting his arm back and draining him from his neck. Throwing her hands out Stefan sailed backwards connecting with the wall and she took a step towards the opening.

"Wait," Kai uttered weakly before Stefan was back in place and pulled Kai to his feet letting out a sharp noise through his teeth.

"Being a witch is a funny thing; you have all of these abilities making you seem _superhuman_ but in the end, you die the same way as a mere mortal."

Stefan did something with his hand behind Kai's back out of sight and he groaned out painfully bringing his left elbow up and connecting with Stefan's nose as blood exploded down his nostrils. Bonnie was baffled by the rumbling of laughter she could hear coming from Kai's throat letting out a grunt when he was pushed to the ground, only moving his left arm to catch himself with his elbow before Stefan yanked him back on his knees.

"Stefan, stop it – please! I had a plan to trap Caroline and try to force her humanity back on with magic but it didn't work and she promised not to retaliate if I let her go. She's out there somewhere, probably back in the ballroom, looking for you."

"And why do you expect me to believe that isn't another lie?"

"Because right now the main thing I care about is the guy in front of you not dying, and I have never been more straightforward".

"Awh," Kai cooed that turned into a cough and Stefan's grip tightened on him.

"One quick move and my fist breaks through his ribcage to his heart and it's _sayonara Gemini_."

"Bye-bye coven," Kai hummed.

"But I'm willing to avoid another death tonight if you lower the force-field and stay out of my way for good; this will be your only offer and warning."

"Okay," Bonnie agreed lifting her hands to the doorframe vocalizing, " _Et Vasa Quisa_ ".

The moment the spell was lowered and she stepped through Stefan whooshed by her like a gust of wind and Bonnie's eyes followed him, gasping out loud at the two bodies with no heads lying on opposite sides of the room. Running to Kai's slumped position her hand caught his head the moment it started to lull forward, lifting it and seeing the bruise near the corner of his mouth and scratch over one of his closed lids. The tears welled in Bonnie's eyes looking over the rest of him and felt them flowing down her face examining his left wrist was broken and that his other shoulder was twisted forward. The wound on the right side of his neck looked brutal and still bleeding, thinking fast and removing his puffy white ascot from around his head gently before scrunching up the material and pressing it against his side as his breath hitched sharply moving to lean away.

"Tired," Kai murmured, "we should go."

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Uh uh," he hummed and said in a weak voice of authority, "Doctor can you take care of this vampire bite right here? No? Well you don't say."

"You've probably lost too much blood and I am already looking at two different broken bones. If I can find Caroline she'll give you her blood."

"That's gross," he said with a scrunched nose and mouth, "and one's just dislocated, easy to pop in; but we really should go before someone walks in and questions us about the _decapitated Beauty and the Beast_."

Glaring at him through tears Kai's gaze lifted to hers seeing a small smile appear and moved restlessly until Bonnie helped him up, carefully avoiding both of his arms. Taking small and deliberate steps they made their way to the closest door and spotted the limo, closing the distance before lying Kai across the backseat and resting his head on her lap. Dropping hers against the leather seat Bonnie blew out a shaky breath – unable to anticipate how the rest of the night is going to end.


	22. Chapter 22

"If you die during our amorous trip to France I will bring you back to life just to kill you myself," Bonnie promised holding Kai up with his arm around her shoulders avoiding his broken wrist and moved slowly through the hotel into the bedroom easing him onto the end of the bed.

"M'okay," he chuckled through heavy lids, "But I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah, what is it?" she responded quickly and he wiggled his right fingers.

"Pop my shoulder back in place."

"What? I can't – I wouldn't even know how to."

"I can talk you through it; hold my arm and bring it straight out away from me." Kai's voice came out sluggish and quiet but still with a calming reassurance that had her following his instructions, lifting the dead weight of his right arm with gentle hands examining the flashes of pain crossing his features and heard him inhale sharply. "Okay, now you're going to hold my wrist and pull away and up at the same time twisting over my head with my palm up."

"But it's flipped the other way; I don't want to make it worse."

"It's already pretty bad; you'll be helping." Blowing out a loud breath to settle her nerves Bonnie repeated what she was supposed to do once more before ever so steadily twisting his arm backwards hearing a sound through gritted teeth before a sigh of relief, watching his shoulder pop back into place. " _Ah, that feels so much better_."

"Okay now onto your wrist," she said moving over to his other arm, "how do we fix that?"

"I know a spell that heals broken bones," he assured and Bonnie's stomach sank.

"Do I want to know why that's one that bounces off the top of your head?" she questioned and Kai chuckled

"Probably learned it the same day I figured out how to fix my shoulder; I'm sure I can do this one myself."

"No I got it, what do I say?"

Kai peered looking up into her eyes, "Okay; put your thumb and middle finger around my wrist then say ' _ossa sanare contritos'_ and squeeze to push the bones back into place."

Staring down to avoid his gaze Bonnie slid her fingers around his wrist loosely, closing her eyes and enunciating the word and before losing her courage squeezed feeling the snap of his bone and heard his grunt of pain. Kai wasted no time promptly flexing his fingers and raising his other arm to test out the damage. Sliding her hands under the heavy coat Bonnie had him stand before easing him out of his jacket, drifting down to unbutton the gold vest being eye-level to Kai's dark gaze. Pushing it off his shoulders a twinge of discomfort passed and her hands hovered on his shoulders moving towards his neck before his recently-attached wrist reached up to stop her.

"I have an idea," Bonnie persuaded in a soft voice and Kai slid his fingers down her arm lingering near her elbow.

Gently moving the blood-soaked ascot away Kai's neck looked tender to the touch; purple and blue bruises mixed in with two red puncture wounds bringing the tears back and shook her head trying to wipe them free. Placing both palms on either side of Kai's neck Bonnie concentrated on the wound closing and whispered out the chant, hoping her voice didn't come out clogged and hoarse with emotion. A sound rumbled in the back of Kai's throat and looked forward to his eyes closed with a deep line between his eyebrows, sliding his hands down her sides over the corset restlessly. Lifting her hand an inch to check underneath she pulled it away completely and let out a sound of satisfaction, Kai's neck now clear of every gruesome wound that had just given Bonnie nausea by the sight.

"I can breathe," Kai exclaimed snaking his left arm around her back pulling her as close as the puffy bottom of her dress would allow, "hallelujah."

"Kai, what happened?" Bonnie asked for the tenth time ghosting her fingers over the bruise between the right side of his mouth and chin and looked up to the cut crossing over his left eyebrow down to his eyelid. "Who were those other people? And why didn't you just let Stefan out of the room before all of this started to happen? I told you to be careful!"

"I am always one to avoid potential danger, Bon; look at who you're talking to."

"You're right, I shouldn't have left you alone," she concluded feeling a pang of guilt that her plan had resulted in Kai beaten and bleeding out in another room, "and then none of this would have happened."

Bonnie could feel her chest tightening and breath started to rise in hitches seeing the risk Kai put himself in for her, lids brimming replaying Stefan draining his blood and had a moment's thought that he could be dead. As far as near and _actual_ deaths go Bonnie has had to watch Kai suffer in a variety of ways and each time was becoming more unbearable than the last, this one still having a lingering effect on her as the images passed by like a slideshow. First there were the decapitated vampires Bonnie could only assume put up a fight of their own that would have left Kai outnumbered and at a disadvantage. Then there was the physical state she found him in – his complexion so pale she was certain her heart skipped a beat, and knew with certainty if she'd shown up a minute later Stefan would have bled him dry and escaped.

"Hate to break it to you but your witchy woo isn't strong enough to make decisions for me so you have no grounds to think you're to blame. On top of that I don't need you to hold my hand, I'm a big boy."

"You're a man trapped in the body of a 23 year-old with a mind of an adolescent… at best," Bonnie declared watching his smile spread, "do you just so love getting into trouble and injuring yourself because it seems to be a pretty common theme here."

"I guess I'm a creature of habit."

"You should have let Stefan go before he called in reinforcements," she said sternly feeling her eyebrows scrunched in tight wiping furiously at one of her cheeks creating scenarios that could have played out in a 3-to-1 battle. The overload of concern was crashing through Bonnie's stability and couldn't reign in the emotions that flared up; her distress setting off spasms of anguish, frustration, and trepidation. "What were you thinking?"

"There wasn't a whole lot of thinking going on, just kind of impulsive _spur-of-the-moment_ reactions," Kai muttered making light of the topic and she pulled her arms around his neck tighter, her hand leaving soft brushes against the right side. "And he had some fingerprint thing that he set off as a warning to his other friends before it turned into this big debacle. But between you and me they didn't stand a chance, you saw my handiwork, right?"

"It will haunt my nightmares for years to come," she nodded and his chest shook against hers, "did they cause any of these injuries?"

"No they were too busy being my entertainment, but Stefan moves _fast,"_ he confessed letting Bonnie know that the one she essentially told Kai to babysit and not let out of his sight was the cause of all of this damage. "I had every intention to just snap his neck – ruining all of the excitement that a part of me has been missing – but I just really didn't want to. Then his friends got in the way, and I was taken down one arm at a time; pretty sure he had an idea of what I was thinking."

"Then you should have done it as soon as he started to get suspicious."

"Eh, I was curious to see where things would go," Kai shrugged in a noncommittal gesture, "one-on-one with the infamous _Ripper Salvatore_ and all; how could I resist?"

"Except it _wasn't_ one-on-one…"

"Trust me, it was; aside from a couple broken bones and unwavering vertigo I'm about 80% sure I won that _Battle of the Beasts_."

"Oh really?" Bonnie let out through a shaky laugh brushing her nose over his with the close proximity, "because what I walked into-"

"Wasn't my finest moment," Kai finished, "but if you had shown up at _any_ other moment; I'm talking chandeliers crushing vampires with precision you couldn't plan for, setting others on fire, and at one point had everyone writhing along the floor with a flick of a wrist. Come to think of it I guess I can see where Stefan figured out my closing endgame."

"If you're suggesting that this could have been avoided…"

"No – it was inevitable, but I did have a worthy opponent."

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed looking at the marks on his face, "I'd say he kicked your ass."

"Yeah _right,_ " Kai scoffed, "his injuries just last longer; I didn't suffer from any aneurysms or broken legs now did I?"

"No, just your arms; do you have any other broken bones we need to tend to?" Bonnie asked dragging her hands back over his shoulders and chest with light touches, leaning back as far as Kai's arms would allow moving down his stomach and around his back.

A slight jump and wince marked the spot on his lower left side and Bonnie grabbed at the middle of his shirt all but tearing the buttons off pulling the rest out from inside his pants and moved his arms to be able to walk behind him. A decent sized bruise of darkened colors was already visible and she pressed her palm against it lightly checking the damage, eyes flicking up to the bottom of his scar directly above it. Lifting his shirt higher Bonnie examined the whip mark from his left hip diagonally up to his shoulder blade his dad gave him when he was only a teenager and felt the overflowing of emotions willing her throat closed. There was faint hope in the back of her mind that the transformation Kai underwent meant he was wiped clean of the physical reminders of his past but the slash still crossed over his defined muscles looking offputtingly fitting now with his buff exterior.

"Nothing's broken, just sore," Kai said turning back to face her causing her hands to glide around to his naked torso, "a little bit of aches and pains does the body good."

"Says who?"

"Me – did I not just say that out loud?" he pondered looking up to the ceiling and Bonnie's trailed down not seeing any open wounds or signs of internal trauma across his chest or stomach. "Nothing I can't handle."

"There isn't much that you _can't_ handle, that's the problem," Bonnie argued staring eye-level at him with her heels on and detected he was still exceedingly pale. "You need water, and some food too; let's go see what I can put together."

"Oh this should be a treat," Kai pepped and looked her over, "do you want to change first?"

"That can wait until after," she reasoned and he turned making it halfway across the room before stumbling a few steps to the side and Bonnie caught him by the arm before he knocked over a piece of art.

"Woah lost my balance there for a second."

Lacing her fingers through his she stayed by Kai's side as they walked past the living room into the kitchen for the first time since they've arrived. The open space had the same sleek and modern look decorated in silver and white on one side where the fridge, microwave, stove, and cabinets were, as well as deep browns across the other wall and long counter where the sink and burners were located. Another sink was on the corner of the wooden island and Bonnie eyed the tiny swivel chairs with no back, more than certain Kai was going to fall backwards off of one.

Rifling through the cabinets Bonnie filled a glass of water and cut up a lemon from the fridge to give him the extra boost and decided on breakfast for a 2AM snack; stacking the eggs, bread, cheese, and butter on the counter before moving on to locating a pan. So wrapped up in what was happening around her Bonnie had managed to whisk almost the entire carton of eggs splattering them in the pan and humming to herself before turning to Kai watching her from the other side of the island.

"I suck at cooking – fair warning."

"Oh is that why I've never had the honor of trying any of your concoctions?"

"There's that, and the food you make is delicious so I didn't want to break the good thing we had going."

"You've watched me make enough meals, I'm sure you've picked up on things you didn't even realize."

"I've been analyzing people's chef skills for almost twenty years, if it hasn't kicked in yet I'm not holding out much hope for the future."

"Looks like you're doing fine so far, just keep them on low heat and you don't need to flip or mess with them much. When they're drying out throw on the cheese and give it a minute to melt. I can make the toast."

"You stay right there," Bonnie said pointing at him with a metal spatula, freezing halfway to his feet and slowly sitting back down. Allowing her smile to shine a giggle left her lips not aware that she was able to boss Kai around and moved around the kitchen making toast, laying the cheese over the eggs, finding forks, and getting two plates from a cabinet overhead. Scooping almost all of the contents from the full pan onto one plate she left enough for an average serving size and grabbed the pieces of toast, buttering and cutting them in diagonal pieces before sliding a plate in front of Kai. " _Voila._ "

"Did you think I needed the entire chicken coops consumption of eggs?" Kai grinned looking down at his overflowing plate then over to hers.

"I think you need the energy; besides you're the one who's wanted to try my cooking."

"That's true," he agreed picking up his fork and scooping two mouthfuls in as a thrumming of content sounding through his vocal cords. " _So good."_

Curious, Bonnie picked up her fork trying a bite and while she was pleasantly surprised it didn't taste like dried out rubber like every time before, it still wasn't as good as Kai's eggs from the other night. "But they aren't the same as yours – why? I did everything you said, what did I miss?"

"Ketchup?" he offered and she shook her head, "pepper?"

"Ugh!" she let out with frustration hitting her hand off the wood beside her plate and scanned the empty counters for what she already knew wasn't there.

"Bon-" he began but she was already looking through cabinets, coming across a spice rack underneath and did a little shimmy going for her weapon of choice and sprinkling it over both plates.

"Now what do you think of _that?_ " Bonnie inquired putting the pepper down on the last word, Kai's eyes looking like they were lit up and much more lively than ten minutes ago.

Taking a bite while still peering up at her Kai slapped his palm off the counter with enthusiasm letting out a loud sound of fulfillment. "Well if those aren't the best scrambled eggs I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. I think you just put every meal of mine to shame, I might have to pass off the torch."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Bonnie winked and went back for her plate, more than impressed that she was the one who made them. Kai scooped a pile onto his toast like the time before and she copied him this time, a major difference in her taste buds with the added buttery crunch and ate the remainder of her plate that way.

"Have some of mine I can't finish all this," he said gesturing to his plate and Bonnie's still rumbling stomach propelled her forward, leaning on her elbows on the other side of the corner to Kai's left and went for another piece of toast taking a large bite. "You have no idea how much I enjoy watching you eat."

"What?" she laughed through the mouthful of food, "why would that ever make the list of things you like about me?"

"It's a long list; you'll come across some random things on there," he said as a matter of fact and Bonnie snorted scooping another forkful onto the toast, being extra slow as it traveled to her mouth and moaned in delight closing her eyes to humor him. "Well now you're just turning me on."

Bonnie almost choked as the food was halfway down her throat and swallowed coughing out the last bit of breath left in her lungs before inhaling deeply. Feeling her face burning Kai's laughter came from deep in his gut and Bonnie joined in hearing the ease and enjoyment he was able to possess even after everything he endured in the past hour. Surveying him as he finished the glass of lemon water his complexion was already appearing healthier – the twisting starting to alleviate in her nervous system – and crossed her arms rubbing at them seeing the goosebumps breaking out. Finishing most of the eggs Kai stood grabbing both plates and emptied the rest in the trash before putting those and the glass in the sink, stalking towards Bonnie with a mysterious appeal that sent an adrenaline rush through her.

"How do you feel?" she asked sounding like a broken record and lifted her hands to cup the side of his neck that wasn't recently bleeding from puncture wounds placing the backside of her other hand across his forehead. "You're still cold."

"Je vais bien," Kai rasped leaning forward until Bonnie's palm thudded off her forehead and leaned back, her wide eyes of confusion causing his smile to flash. "I'm fine."

Pursing her lips to not let her new favorite distraction draw her focus away she went through the possible remedies that would help Kai's symptoms, one of her preferred choices seeming the best solution. "You should go use that tub; it stayed warm the whole time, and it's really spacious."

"A bath?"

"It'll be so worth it, you'll love it."

"Will you be joining me?" he wondered with a tilt of his head and she let out a nervous laugh.

"No."

"Then no."

"Kai," she sighed pulling him with ease back out of the kitchen, threw the living room, and into the bedroom pointing over to the bathroom on her right. "Do you think you can handle a shower?"

"I don't know, the same question seems to be coming to mind," Kai pondered sliding his hand up her arm from her hand and she rested both of her palms against his chest steadying herself.

"Take a shower to warm up a little bit, please. I'll be right here when you get out."

"You just don't want me ruining this dress," Kai remarked after a moment of silence and clucked his tongue retreating back into the bathroom.

"You got me," Bonnie smiled over her shoulder walking over to the full length mirror, twisting around to try and untie the corset to no avail.

The open curtains brought her to the glass doors leading to the balcony and pushed one open, instantly shivering against the cool night breeze blowing across her bare arms and chest. Goosebumps spread as Bonnie moved to the far left corner closest to the Eiffel Tower and leaned against the railing taking in the breathtaking view along with the unbelievable fact that it was really in front of her eyes. Bonnie had imagined going to France since she was a little girl; going through a major Paris-phase in middle school and changed her entire style to match Parisians loving every minute of it. Her teenaged-self would come up with all of the ways Bonnie would someday ' _make it_ ' and live the dream, what adventures she would experience while she was here, and the love of her life that she would find – if she wasn't already experiencing it with him.

The laughter still threatened to erupt out of her system every time she thought of the person who came with her to paradise and the reasoning _behind_ this spontaneous trip; not a single one of her fantasies preparing herself for the reality. There have been a lot of curveballs thrown Bonnie's way throughout her life; from growing up without a mother, to discovering she was a descendent of one of the oldest and strongest bloodline of witches – and it seemed only fitting to add Kai Parker to the list. It wasn't that she had never been really into or slept with someone before – Bonnie felt something so immensely for Jeremy at one point that she was willing to do anything for him – but Kai was someone who was never supposed to be a part of her life.

Coming in like a tornado Bonnie quickly caught onto the fact that mayhem and destruction happened wherever Kai went and was deemed a threat to her way of life; the disclosure that the second half still held true over monumentally opposing reasoning's had her body shivering so hard she could feel it in her bones. Crossing paths in each other's lives as rivals Bonnie held onto her _black and white_ morals and didn't give Kai the chance to defend himself before she casted him off in her own blind quest to find her way home. Up until Damon was teleported out of 1994 Bonnie was never able to see past the judgment she held over the title he wore along with the living proof of the prison world they were trapped inside, only allowing herself to see one specific aspect of a killer who went on a spree.

Once it was just the two of them forced to be in a room consecutively for the sake of her own sanity Kai's mask started to fade; the things he opened up about over his father, the coven, his childhood, and relationship with Jo all valuable puzzle pieces fitting into place revealing who he truly is underneath. Though, it wasn't just the things Bonnie learned about Kai that drew her in so close – but the person she discovered he was along the way. Through each honest conversation and meal together Bonnie found herself lowering the walls she put up after being heartbroken over her last breakup and felt like she was getting pulled into Kai's world by an invisible force; the harder she fought to escape the deeper she fell for him.

Eight months ago Bonnie not only wouldn't have felt a loss if Kai perished, but she wouldn't have brought him into her scheme or adventured halfway across the world with him as her traveling buddy to begin with because she didn't trust him then. Becoming so in-tune with keeping people at an arm's length Bonnie's unrelenting obstinate mindset blinded her from the steady progression that's been building between her and Kai, her worst fears coming true when it continued to amplify after they made it back to present day. Not only has Bonnie's fondness for him progressed but the race for a tight second has to go to either her raging sexual tension or the sickening plagues of allowing her mind to dwell and worry over his wellbeing; the trifecta successfully shattering her perception on the both of them leaving the pieces to fall where they rightfully belong.

"It's freezing out here, Bon," a deep voice sounded behind her before Kai's forearm's pressed against her bare chest pulling her into him.

Feeling Kai's slightly warmer skin against her own Bonnie snapped out of her daydream and blinked away the twinkling from the Eiffel Tower, talking as she pivoted in his hold. "No go back inside, it's too cold."

"Well I would but there's this girl in a dress looking like she stepped out of a fairytale on my balcony," Kai divulged and she could see the lights from the Tower reflecting in his pupils. "And here am I – looking like nothing more than a poor village boy."

"Haven't you ever seen _Aladdin_?" Bonnie demured, enthralled with the choice of casualwear Kai just _had_ to buy.

A sleeveless hooded zip-up caught his eye from the other side of the store, the shade of charcoal looking like static on a television speckled with black, white, and a majority of dark grey with a matching pair of sweatpants; black strings on both and pockets scattered about. The hood was secured over his head leaving Kai's eyes barely visible but somehow failed to use the zipper leaving his bare chest open to the 3AM breeze.

" _A whole new world,_ " Kai sang in a soft tone, stepping back to hold one of their hands high over her head and twirl her, twisting their arms in front of Bonnie's stomach and tugging her back into his chest causing them both to face the magnificent view just a short distance away. "Yes, I'm familiar with that one."

"You're only half dressed, get back in there," Bonnie ordered wiggling around in his hold, opening his arms but still holding her hands so she could walk in front of him.

"After you, m'lady."

"Ever the charmer," she remarked holding his hands for balance walking back through the open doors and stopping in front of the mirror beside the dresser. "Truth be told I needed your help with the laces."

"Hmm I was hoping that was the case," he uttered close to Bonnie's neck, his breath even warmer against her cool skin and looked to her left at the mirror.

Kai's fingers danced around the ribbon loosening them as he went and her heart pounded having the advantage to take in the sight behind her with him completely unaware. By the time he finished Bonnie had to hold the front to her chest to keep it from falling and moved a step forward opening one of the drawers and pulling out the first t-shirt she touched; gripping the dark fabric when she realized it wasn't one of hers. Clearing her throat Bonnie let the dress fall, puffing up to her thighs because of the bottom and pulled the shirt over her head, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

"Hope you don't mind."

"So modest," he remarked holding out his hand for her to step over the pile of dress without falling and reached for the fabric near his chest when her heel got caught on the lace. Grinning as he looked over her face his gaze lowered leaning back taking in the full picture, the smile wiping clean when he landed on her feet. "I stand corrected; _this_ is my favorite outfit. Have you been wearing those the whole time?"

"Yeah, aren't they amazing? I don't think you were paying attention when I bought them. I love them, the straps-"

"I will do anything you want if you leave those on for a little longer," Kai declared with his eyes glued to the floor and the flush of heat spread as fast as the grin across her face.

"Really; now when you say _anything_ …"

"Whatever comes to mind."

"Gee, now that you mention it I've got this kink in my neck-"Bonnie began tilting her head to the side and felt his thumb press down moving it in small circles, a sharpness sparking before a soothing warmth took its place and her shoulders slumped in relaxation. "I was just kidding but that feels sensational. Does this offer stand for as long as I have these on?"

"Absolutely," he uttered lowly, his features looking even darker from the shadow of his hood and stared into two bright specs of blue peering back at her.

"You've got yourself a deal," Bonnie said dipping into her _Miss Scarlet_ ego curving her lip and drifting her fingers up the zippers on both sides of Kai's sweatshirt. "I'm intrigued to see what I'll be getting out of this."

"What do you want me to do to you next?" he asked through specific wording and Bonnie's mouth watered, licking her lips as her mind came up with a few choice answers in vivid detail.

"Nothing for now, but thanks."

Clicking across the wooden floor into the bathroom Bonnie wiped off what little makeup she applied before running out the door earlier and let out all of the champagne she's been holding in; making her way back into the room with ease in the worn-in heels. Kai sat with his back to the dark brown woven canvas design from floor to ceiling at the head of the bed sitting on the right sight – what has turned into his designated side – closest to the balcony and looked over to her with a blank expression. Under scrutiny and over-exposed Bonnie moved quickly crossing the room to the bed, sitting diagonal from him with her knees tucked in and heels near his arm. Looking casual and comfortable his left leg was bent with his recently healed wrist resting on his knee and she had to struggle to keep her line of view above his neck, Kai's open sweatshirt showing the rippling of hard muscle even while he's sitting up and not flexing.

"Can you believe it's already after 3AM?" he asked looking across the room to the clock on the wall, "I love this city; always something going on but not chaotic like New York or Vegas."

"To name a few," Bonnie nodded in agreement, not knowing personally but her television has taught her that much, "but they don't speak French."

"La langue de l'amour," he purred and her teeth rattled, "come on you know that one; it's a saying. French… the lang-"

"The language of love!" she finished with a small inward motion of her fist and arm in celebration, "thank you, Mrs. Moreau. It's a fitting saying since it really does sound so… _romantic_ ; like it just rolls off your tongue and the words all blend into each other. It's so much nicer than Latin."

"Well their thing's the _language of the dead_ so I don't think they were aiming for delicacy."

"Yeah, I guess they pretty much nailed that."

"Right in the coffin," Kai finished her sentence with barely contained glee, a little uneasy with herself that not only is his antics rubbing off on her but this time she didn't even notice, as if reading her mind stating, "oh we think so alike sometimes."

"Hanging out with someone for too long can do that; soon we'll be wearing the same clothes," Bonnie threw out, the problem always arising between her, Elena, and Caroline but sounded far-fetched between her and Kai. Observing his eyes flicker he bit his upper lip trying and failing to hide his grin and raised an eyebrow. Scrunching hers in return she leaned her head back and glanced down, cursing out loud staring at the shirt that was not her own and felt the bed shake from laughter. "Never mind, bad example."

"You didn't even realize," Kai chuckled moving his right forearm from beside him to trail over the straps of her heels, "at least you don't have to worry about me stealing your footwear."

"The silver lining," she concurred, Bonnie's eye-line trailing down to his fingers tracing over the straps brushing against her skin every so often; bating the craving deep inside.

Scanning up his arm Kai was distractedly fixed on the flashy allure of gold and Bonnie looked over his unruffled and distant expression, seemingly lost in thought. No matter what age, gender, or relationship are between two people if they are the only ones left in civilization they're going to form some type of bond, the specifics on the development left up to the fates of chemistry. This rare and complex psychological undertaking is so terrifying because there is no hint or warning to who you were going to clash with – or connect with. The instant Bonnie made eye contact with Kai through the flames a spark within her set off – assuming it was a gut-wrenching feeling of animosity she couldn't shake – but the months spent alone with him has caused her to reflect on and question every moment since arriving in 1994 that first day, their first few months together deserving a special investigation.

In what seems like the blink of an eye Kai went from someone that was forced into her life, to a guy she didn't mind being around… to more; and the latter was filling Bonnie with continuous surges of both untamed passion and blind fear. Apprehension doesn't touch the surface on what spirals through her thoughts on a daily basis when Bonnie speculates over how far she's willing to take this ' _friends-with-benefits'_ game, what her friends would say if they knew the half of it, and how her life would be if her and Kai ever did progress into something farther. At times it seems almost foolish to let her mind wander to such contrastive thoughts when there is a permanent target tattooed on Kai provoking everyone he comes into contact with, some leaving a lasting impression over others. Somewhere along the way Kai's safety made it to her list of priorities and the hyper-state of awareness of his excessive conquests with danger was driving Bonnie not only to choose a side, but also stand her ground with no other choice but to say and act on the things she's truly feeling.

Kai's slumped posture and head tilted to the side looking like his eyes were closed triggered the blip of him in the same position, so sickly and colorless the vampire behind him had a better complexion. Bonnie has seen firsthand the lengths Stefan off the rails is willing to go to for his own gain and those instances were against people he either loved or despised, Kai meeting neither of those standards meaning he has no significance in his life. The same couldn't be said for Bonnie and what she experienced in the split-second she thought he could be dead and Caroline's words about life being short and enjoying things as they came rang back in her eardrums. Getting hit with a loud and painful thud of her heart Bonnie's limbs moved crawling towards Kai not slowing down as she threw her right leg over his and settled on his lap. Flashing his smile his eyes met hers and the look faltered fading by the second.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked in a soft tone tickling her with his nails and leaving goosebumps on the open space between her knees and the end of the shirt.

Looking from one pupil to the other Bonnie balled up the part of his sweatshirt between her thighs and he raised his eyebrows waiting for a response she didn't have. She couldn't even figure out what was wrong with her – her _mind_ – and doubted Kai would have any better luck solving that paradox but he has excelled in persistently surprising her in the past. It felt like Bonnie was watching a movie through fast forward; flashes of pushing him away and every near-death experience clashing against Kai's body against hers along with every lust-induced thought and emotional development all intermingling with each other causing to Bonnie to squeeze her eyes shut before the room started to spin.

Waiting as the blurs passed and evaporated like fog clear images started to surface of the archway, waterfall, dancing together, and waking up in his arms; Kai's face coming into focus as he eased her out of a panic attack, consoled her after Caroline ran, and gave Bonnie piece of mind when she opened up about her family. Being a firm believer in second chances, karma, and looking at things through a nonjudgmental perspective she regrettably hasn't shown Kai much clemency, her overcritical mindset never fully granting him a second chance in her eyes. Bonnie believed that his karma was the purgatory he was locked in for nearly two decades and while she still may be correct all of the good deeds and selfless acts Kai's displayed over the years have gone by overlooked and uncredited and had to wonder when something good was going to come his way to tip the scale back over.

"I thought you died," Bonnie rushed out, "I know how ridiculous that sounds – even more so out loud – and I'm aware that you're a mega-powerful _whatever_ but that didn't stop the thoughts from happening and it freaked me out and I keep replaying it and making myself crazy and _I don't know why._ "

"You think I'm going to be taken down at a Masquerade Ball… of all places?" Kai asked cocking an eyebrow, "That was not where this story was going to end. And like I said before _I_ was the one kicking some speedy-vampire ass."

"Mhm," she rumbled peering at the red mark over his right eye.

"Am I going to have to magically patch myself up so you stop staring at my little baby cut? Because I really don't feel like wasting my energy on that so take a deep breath, look right here," he waved his hand in front his face and Bonnie's eyes locked into his gaze, "I'm not going anywhere."

Yanking Kai's hood down Bonnie used the material in her hand to bring him to her lips and pressed her body against his, it taking him a moment to react before snaking his arms under her shirt and up her back pulling her closer. Angling her head to deepen the kiss Bonnie leaned up on her knees to tower over him and ran her hands along his sweatshirt dragging it down his arms until he pulled his hands out from under her shirt to take it off completely. Wasting no time Kai broke the kiss ripping her t-shirt off in the same moment and slid his hands around her neck, anchoring her to him.

Digging her nails into his pecs Bonnie battled against an eternal war – a longing burrowed so deep the thought of them together made her lightheaded, and held onto the knowledge of Kai's body recently taking a beating to not let her lasciviousness take over. Flattening her palms and gliding her hands over his skin Bonnie distracted him with a few rolls of her tongue and pulled her knees up, the bottom of the heels hooking into both sides of the waistband pushing them down steadily. Leaning his hand against the mattress Kai lifted up enough for her to move his sweatpants over his thighs and didn't stop until they were past his knees, the thin material of lace the only thing separating them from tearing the room apart.

"So happy you're still wearing those," Kai husked against her lips and Bonnie closed her eyes, conjuring up the _fierce_ _stiletto-wearing_ alter-ego she knows is within her and leaned back running her nails through his scruff to the back of his jaw.

"Which reminds me, don't we have an agreement over these items of gold?" Bonnie questioned curving the corner of her mouth and he looked her over, mimicking her expression with hands moving up her ribs.

"Mm I believe we do."

"Then lie back," she whispered and saw the side of Kai's jaw tick and a blaze burn bright in his eyes, scooting down easily even with Bonnie's weight on top of his until his upper back was resting on the pillow and his shoulders and head were against the canvas backboard; angled in just the right way to be lying down while still staring back at her. "And don't move."

Starting at the center of his chest Bonnie began her descent gliding her tongue down the deep line that wasn't there the last time they found themselves in this position and brushed her fingertips lightly across his abs feeling his muscles tighten with each caress. Moving her legs between his thighs she rose her feet to not catch the heels in the comforter and slid the underside of his shaft between her breasts, items on the desk behind her rattling as a rough sound escaped Kai's lips. His hand made his way over hers and up her arm and Bonnie glanced up at him through a stern glare.

"What – I'm not moving," he smirked and Bonnie pressed his arms on the mattress. "I can't touch you?"

Bonnie shook her head, "try to again, and there will be consequences."

"Like what?" Kai wondered through a peaked interest, "is this something I will regret later or be grateful my curiosity won over? I need a hint."

"Does this look like a game of _Clue_ to you?" Bonnie asked with a tilt of her head seeing his fingertips twitch, more than likely trying not to react.

"It's starting to."

"Then you should be accustomed to taking orders," she said simply and Kai's smile flashed wide, the look of delight making her nearly break character.

Not giving him time to react Bonnie nibbled the bit of flesh above his bellybutton and felt Kai's rumbling in his chest, looking down and letting out a breathy exhale at the magnitude that was awaiting her. She should have assumed the post-merge ripping of masculinity and overall _bigger_ exterior would transcend over every piece of his body – but she hadn't, and now the reality was significantly more intimidating being only a breath away. Sliding her shaking hand from nerves over his right thigh and around the base the guttural noise that traveled up through Kai's throat fueled the hunger Bonnie struggled to keep dormant and wiped away the uneasiness, looking into his hooded gaze with a coy smile as she slid her hand up to the tip.

A shiver racked his frame and gripped the sheets beside him, Kai's expression obnoxiously calm when his body is giving away a different reaction entirely and repeated the motion eyes connected as she made her way down farther. Shifting her eyes over to the sight in front of her Bonnie vibrated with anticipation and a touch of hesitancy on how she was going to handle him, gliding the tip of her tongue from the bottom to just below the tip seeming like a good place to start and something falling behind her proved her to be correct. Keeping her hand firmly around the base from past experience Bonnie slid her lips around him taking Kai in slowly and his ragged breathing egged her on farther, pumping him at a steady rhythm for no longer than two minutes before she felt a grip in her hair.

"I'm not even sorry, I had to know," Kai uttered through a dark countenance.

"Suit yourself; _ligatum._ "

Kai's arms pulled back beside his head bound to the canvas and the look of being at her mercy mixed with his overall appeal or virility was adding fuel to her raging fire.

"Kinky – I probably would have used cuffs but this is a nice change of pace. Is this my repercussion for disobeying?"

"Half of it," Bonnie retorted with a sweet smile, keeping her hand moving slowly up and down his shaft while the other traced designs with her nails over the sensitive skin on his inner thigh.

"And the other?" he asked an octave deeper.

"I'll leave that one up to you to figure out."

"So what's stopping me from magically unbinding myself?" he retorted and she cocked and eyebrow.

"Do you really want to find out?"

"Yes," Kai laughed, "actual fantasies are coming true right now."

A wave of heat flooded Bonnie's chest hearing that he's imagined this before and it filled her with reassurance and incentive, bringing her lips close enough to breath against the sensitive head and peered up at him.

"I don't tolerate insubordination; every act of defiance will just make things worse for you in the end."

"Whatever you do to me I'll retaliate twice as hard, it's in my nature," he promised, glancing up to his bound hands.

The challenge sent a thrill coursing through Bonnie's veins, a sultry smile crossing her lips welcoming the invitation. Kai's fists tugged against the invisible rope and eyes dimmed a shade at her non-verbal response; licking her lips and going down taking him as far back as he would fit, which wasn't nearly as much as the time before. Humming in the back of her throat she felt the vibration jolt into him like a bolt of lightning jerking him forward and drew him out slowly, going back in for round two. The quest to make Kai lose his mind aroused her with a specific kind of want; needing to see him come undone from her touch while she stayed lucid and in control, and drawing out the torment seemed to be an excellent method of choice.

Ten minutes turned into twenty and Bonnie was becoming skilled at bringing Kai just to the point of release before easing him back down and the toll was effecting him in a carnal way; setting himself free two times already just to be tied back up and have his pleasure dragged out longer. Her fingers slid easily over his sweaty stomach and knew if she pushed him to the edge one more time he'd push back, and he was displaying barely contained aggression already. Going down as far as she could manage Bonnie slackened her jaw and went just a little more; the expletive leaving Kai's mouth signaling she had him where she wanted and pumped hard at the base.

A loud shattering off to her right almost had her choking from alarm and the sounds spilling out of his mouth was rising her body heat at the lewd suggestiveness she knew was in store for her. Listening to his deep pants to catch his breath Bonnie looked up to the brazen picture in front of her and glanced to his fists clenched tight, checking the damage of the noise and jumped back seeing the balcony doors still closed but one was missing the glass that was scattered all over the floor.

"Untie me."

"You know, I might leave you there for a little longer – I'm liking what I'm seeing," Bonnie countered, half truthfulness and the rest coated in precaution over what his next move was going to be.

"Bonnie."

Stated like a verbal command rather than her name, the words left her lips to unbind him before she was consciously alert and stared wide-eyed back at Kai as he pulled her into him before slamming her backside against the middle of the bed. Moving her leg out of the way to sit beside her Kai's fingers squeezed one breast encasing his lips over the over and felt the sharpness of his tongue arching her off the mattress as his fingers continued down over her stomach heading towards her underwear.

"I'm ready," Bonnie pledged feeling her body aching for his.

"Not yet," he rasped sliding his fingers under the lace and curving two into her pushing as far as he could, knocking her knees open to give him easier access.

Holding himself up on his left elbow Kai reached behind her head to grip her hair and pressed his forehead against hers, his face gliding down Bonnie's when her back bowed off the bed and smiled wide-mouthed an inch away from hers when a loud moan spilled out. Keeping his eyes locked on her face Bonnie felt captivated by his stare, thrashing underneath his touch and groaning out in frustration every time he leaned back when she tried to kiss him. Sending his fingers in farther Bonnie turned sliding her hand over his hip and grinded backwards into him, Kai's hand moving from her hair to neck holding her close and grazing his teeth down the side making her limbs start to shake. Bringing her arm up his hip Bonnie snaked it around the injured side of his neck holding onto the back and pulling forward, Kai sliding his fingers out to clasp them together on the other side of her neck kissing her with such ardor she could swear the bedframe was rattling.

Trailing down her stomach Kai tore off the flimsy material and swung one of her legs over to crawl in between her thighs and reached back grabbing her left heel giving him full control over her movements. The connection of his tongue against Bonnie's sensitive folds brought the low light beside the bed crashing down breaking in two when it hit the floor; the sizzling of eroticism steaming off of Kai in waves as he took what he wanted and didn't stop until she was gasping his name. Legs shaking as a warning a shock of pleasure ran up Bonnie's spine feeling the coarseness of Kai's beard brushing against her most tender spots and clawed at the sheets pulling away from the intensity, his hands clasping below her bellybutton hindering her feeble attempts. She wasn't sure if it was the intoxicating orgasm that had her screaming out or from being startled by the ottoman furniture flying overhead towards Kai and hitting the canvas, bouncing a few inches away from him and hitting the floor.

"You remembered the shield," Bonnie smiled ghosting her nails across his scalp as he licked and nibbled his way back up until his face hovered over hers.

"Always prepared," he said with a mug of self-confidence before the act dropped and shrugged, "and I forgot it once before and already been hit with some choice objects tonight so I'm avoiding a repeat performance."

Shifting her gaze to the side of his neck Bonnie lifted her head curling into the crook leaving small pecks where he was just recently injured and felt his pulse beating fast against her lips, breathing out the words, "I'll take it easy on you."

"You can't break me, Bon," he stated through a smile, turning his head to kiss across her cheek, "but I'd love to see you try."

Rubbing himself over her Bonnie raised her knees – still cautious not to press too much into his right side – and slid her fingers through his hair holding on when she felt the intimate pressure pushing against her, tightening her hold when Kai entered a fraction and paused letting her adjust. Bursts of wood sounded overhead as the drawers flew out of the dressers crashing against the floor sending clothes everywhere and felt light brushes trailing down her arm, lacing his fingers through hers and looking over her face as a twinge of pain crossed. If Bonnie thought she had to be heedful to the fact that Kai was harder to take in than Jeremy before the merge happened she was getting corrected with a sharp awareness deep in her groin notifying her that she had jumped the gun on that statement.

"Kai, you're t-"Bonnie began and clamped her mouth shut as she began to vocally finish her internal thoughts.

"Oh, please finish that sentence;" Kai begged as one of the widest smiles she's ever seen cross his face, "I could die a happy man tomorrow if you were actually going to say what I think you were."

"Oh too bad, I guess now we'll never know what I was thinking and you'll have to keep on living."

"Mm too bad I can read your mind," Kai chuckled darkly and slid his other hand in between them circling his thumb over her clit causing her to bow into him taking in another inch and exhaling sharply.

"Just do it," Bonnie let out harshly like she was telling a dentist to pull the tooth and get it over with and could feel his laughter shaking the bed.

Ignoring her plea Kai stayed rooted to his spot and kept his thumb going in a steady rhythm brushing kissing across her chin and jaw, turning her head into his bicep caging her with their clasped hands and an electric charge followed everywhere his lips went.

"Let me in," he whispered and the bite of an underlying command had Bonnie's apparent tense posture unwinding, her body relaxing with a long exhale and curled into him feeling him sink deeper than she would have thought capable.

Puffing out harsh pants against her face Kai's hand roamed up her stomach and over her breast, his mouth covering one as he continued across her skin underneath her thighs and squeezed the flesh. A whimper crept up Bonnie's throat at the immense fullness and felt her body starting to switch to instinctual; wanting to push away the overwhelming pressure that was making her feel so full and whole her heart ached and Kai pulled both of her hands above her head, ghosting back down her side and tucking his forearm behind her lower back. Another pang of sharpness shot out Bonnie's extremities zapping a piece of artwork off the wall when Kai started to move his hips and tugged her wrists against his grip.

"Kai-"

"Move with me," he urged in a soothing tone, letting go of her hands to trail down and hold onto the side of her neck coaxing Bonnie one brush of his lips at a time.

Rolling her hips when Kai lifted her it felt like a fuse was lit as electricity sparked throughout her frame and kept his lips sealed over hers, breathing in the others hoarse and ragged sounds as he guided her into his movements. Once Bonnie was finally starting to get used to the new feeling Kai pulled her off the mattress and sat up with legs straight out, bending her knees around his hips to adjust and felt him sink so deep she had to throw her left palm on the sheets behind her to keep from falling. Hearing her own moans and breathy sounds Kai placed his hands on the curve of her butt pushing forward and Bonnie glided easily to the base, the ache of soreness from going too deep causing her core to clench around him.

There has never been a single other moment where Bonnie has felt so connected and consumed by another person – certain her heart was going to burst out of her chest from beating so fast – and Kai's refusal to break eye contact had her faltering more than once as she leaned back and rocked into him. One of his arms stayed in place as the other pressed up her spine drawing her in until Bonnie's forehead was against his and reached around his neck with her free hand scratching restlessly where his hair began. Digging her heels into the mattress the raised angle caused her movements to turn quick and hard; Kai's winded grunt misting her skin and felt the same familiar build within her seeing his mouth hanging open listening to the low rumbles of gratification pouring out inches from her face. Locking his hands at the bottom of her spine to give her thrusts that pinch of extra Bonnie's vision started to blur and wrapped her arms and legs around Kai's back, convulsing around him as she rode out the second wave and squeezed tighter hearing another round of glass shattering.

With legs shaking Bonnie could feel Kai still hard as stone and let out a breathless sound knowing it was far from over and wondered if this was what he was hinting at when he said she'd get it twice as bad. Leaning back to look at Kai's expression his eyes were wandering around the rest of the room and froze, a grin starting to spread and followed his eye-line to the two broken balcony doors. Taking in her squinted eyes and pursed lips Kai raised his eyebrow in question and Bonnie shook her head, grinning wider making her grip his hair.

"Not a chance."

"You're saying you don't want to – are you sure?" he inquired, leaving soft kisses across her face, neck, and chest as he spoke. "We're in the most picturesque place in the world, with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower out on that terrace, and you don't want to experience it? Don't girls always grow up inventing stories of this place?"

"Vividly."

"Well did you ever have _grown up_ stories – ones you couldn't share? Playing through all of the things you could get into, and how, and _where?_ "

"Yes," Bonnie divulged, a gasp escaping when Kai pulled her down by the hips and thrust upward staring at him through a lust-induced gaze.

"Then let's make some of those fantasies come true."

A twisting around her lungs caused Bonnie's breath to come out faint and quick getting more lightheaded by the second, the animalistic side of her barreling its way through her willpower metaphorically unsheathing her claws and purring loud in awakening. Peeling herself away from his slicked torso she walked around the bed the long way as Kai watched from where he sat and flicked his wrist sending the glass to the corner of the room out of the way. Clicking to the broken doors Bonnie crossed over placing one heel outside and threw a flirty look over her shoulder, Kai already halfway off the bed and strode towards her in two steps nearly tripping backwards when his force threw off her balance.

With his hands around her neck Bonnie's momentum continued to move them backwards one step at a time and wrapped her hands around Kai's hips pressing her chest against his in an embrace to steady her footing. Moving her lips across his cheek Kai softly chuckled when she bared her teeth on his jaw and continued down the tender side of his neck, his hands lowering to cage his biceps around her shoulders dropping his nose to her collarbone.

"Do the spell so nothing breaks and the balcony doesn't fall off of the building," Bonnie ordered, kicking herself for not thinking of that an hour ago and heard his low words rumbling off of her skin.

Feeling the night chill even colder than the last time they were out here Bonnie spun around in his hold, leaning far enough forward to reach the railing and feeling the burn down the back of her legs from the heels arching her into the curve of Kai's hardness. Going with equal attentiveness as the first time Bonnie felt the resistance when he tried opening her up and white-knuckled the metal barrier as he persisted through pushing down to the base. Lulling her head forward Bonnie attempted to inhale but kept getting cut off by a moan or sound of need spilling out of her mouth, their echoes sounding louder being out in the open for anyone to eavesdrop in on and the taste of salaciousness and vulgarity was bringing something carnal out of her; slamming back into his every thrust and goading him with each declaration she grated out.

Sensing Kai towering over her his right arm slid over her shoulder gripping the railing between her hands and dug his face into the left side of her neck, the tight hold enveloping Bonnie and ran her hands through his hair wanting to get closer. Pressing his palm flat to her stomach Kai's hand glided up kneading one breast and then the other, her heavy lids opening to the shimmering Tower less than a football field away and sighed out a sound of content curling Kai around her farther.

"I love feeling your arms around me… holding me tight; like no one can hurt me," Bonnie confessed feeling tipsy from everything that's happened tonight.

"They can't," Kai growled underneath her ear and the steely resolve in his tone had her feet wobbling on the verge of giving out. "They'd have to deal with me first."

The words went through Bonnie ears straight into her core knowing he was believing what he's saying causing her ankles to teeter to the side and would have collapsed if Kai didn't have a tight hold around her waist. Having a sense of weightlessness a small adjustment would send Bonnie over the edge and Kai did one better, using her hips to drive back into him and her willpower disintegrated. Clamping down on the bicep beside her face to mask her thunderous sounds of appeasement every ounce of energy was drained out of Bonnie by the end and felt herself slackening against his, waiting for Kai to finish when he pulled out instead.

"No, no more-"Bonnie mumbled through closed lids maneuvering her hand behind her to reach for him grazing over the chiseled stone. "Why do you have so much stamina; what's the matter with you?"

"All the better to please you with – or tease you with, depending on my mood," he murmured pivoting her back around to face him and caught her by surprise when he lifted her weak legs off the ground and locked them behind his back. "Where should we go next?"

"To bed," she concluded wrapping her hands around his neck and cuddling her face into him.

"We've already been there, keep thinking. There's the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom-"

A clear image of the massive wooden bowl of a bathtub crept up Bonnie's mind, against her greatest wishes feeling the irresistible and compelling pull of appeal and tensed around his hard frame. Kai made a gesture behind her back with his hand and ran his palms over her naked skin like he was trying to warm her up and headed back through the broken doors across the room and into the bathroom where the tub was already halfway full.

"How-"Bonnie began and gave him a bewildered look, "If you really can read my mind I apologize for 80% of the things you've heard; I daydream."

"I only analyze the things about me, the rest of your secrets are safe… for the most part."

Sighing out a light sound of uneasiness Kai stepped over to the counter and sat Bonnie beside the sink, his fingertips feeling like fire against her legs until he reached the heels and untied the straps pulling one off swiftly followed by the other. Scooping her up by the underside of her thighs he didn't bother checking the water or putting her down before stepping over the side and sinking down dipping his head under before popping back up. Bonnie's urgency and longing was rapidly coming back sliding her hands over Kai's wet chest seeing the water drip down his face with his hair slicked down his forehead.

"Wasn't I right, though?" Bonnie queried splashing her palms on the surface, "how amazing is this?"

"I don't seem to recall disagreeing with you, just wanting a swimming partner," Kai stated running his hands over her body underwater, "it seems we both got what we wanted."

"Progress," Bonnie said offhandedly but the underlying meaning held a monumental value and the change in Kai's demeanor told her he caught it too.

Having him repeat the spell so the tub didn't break and have them spill across the floor Bonnie lined him up and glided effortlessly onto him, the lubrication of water making her move too quickly and clenched down when she hit the base. With Kai floating just above the bottom he had enough room to thrust up into her smoothly using her hips to secure their connection and placed her hands on the wood beside his head dropping her forehead onto his and closing her eyes.

"Bonnie," Kai's husky voice arose, "I want you to tell Jeremy-"

"To back off – I know; even though he knows by now we're not getting back together."

"He _doesn't_ know that," he countered through his teeth, "but that's not what I was going say to say… I want you to tell him about us."

Dilated eyes stared back at her when Bonnie's gaze locked on his and became motionless on command, going to move her head back when Kai's hand grasped her neck with his thumb under her chin keeping her in place.

"You're really going to do this now?"

"It's the only time you'll listen to me – and can't run away," Kai smirked moving his hips into hers easily even with her tense posture. "We don't have to make it a big thing."

"We're not going to, because we're not going to take me right out of the moment by ruining it with this conversation."

"I want you to tell him," he stated again as if Bonnie hadn't spoken and tried again to pull her head away, "I want you to tell all of them, but I'll settle for him."

"What – since when?" she asked in a higher voice, her acute anxiety spiking to panic over this very scenario; grabbing his hand to rip it off of her and was quickly hindered by Kai gripping her biceps and pulling them behind her.

The accidental curve of her back had Bonnie taking in all of him and threw her head back as an overdrawn groan bubbled and as her hands flailed under the water to touch him. Persuading her with his expertise Kai rolled his hips into every plunge and had her close within minutes bringing her to the precipice before easing her back down, Bonnie catching on to his intentions immediately.

"Since I realized I wanted them to know about us. It's fun being each other's dirty secret and the sexual tension it creates is not lost on me, but it's not enough. I want to kiss you whenever I want, and I don't want the thought of your ex-boyfriend trying to hit on you every time I run into him make me contemplate manslaughter. I don't want anyone else to have you – and I think you might feel the same way about me; so he needs to know."

"He – I can't," Bonnie stuttered out catching the flash of anger that crossed Kai's features, clenching his jaw. Confined in place with no way of escape her legs made light splashes moving on their own volition over her discomposure and looked to the ceiling, thoughts spiraling wondering when they got off of the same page and how she was going to get out of this unnerving exchange. "It's not the right time."

"Why not?"

"Because humanity-less vampires are running around-"

"Not plural, now there's only one," Kai cut in.

"And he's the more dangerous of the two."

"Who doesn't happen to be your best friend."

"Kai I _really_ don't want to talk about this right now; how about any other time?" Bonnie implored, twisting her wrists to run her nails over his inner thighs and he jerked upward.

"Are you going to tell him?" Kai's low voice vibrated through her core, the touch of simmering vexation causing his hands to burn against her skin and avoided his gaze. "Then I want to know why you won't; you aren't leaving this bathtub until you answer one of them."

"I've _told you why_ ," Bonnie grated falling back into Kai's tight grip when she pushed her knees out and descended lower feeling that familiar ache of soreness; her legs shaking remembering the gratification that came afterwards.

Sliding almost fully out Kai drove forward hitting the same spot knocking the wind out of her and knew one more roll of hips would send her over, rising to slam back down when he released her biceps and pressed his arms to her middle and lower back pulling Bonnie flush against him. Attempting to move her hips his forearms kept her immobilized but could feel Kai pressing against her in just the right way keeping her on the brink; her resolve taking a nose-dive into the concrete and growled out a sound of frustration clutching the side of the tub.

"Not as much fun when it's the other way around, huh?"

"Mine was playful and was _your fault_ since you couldn't handle the rules; yours is about getting answers."

"It's actually more of a gentle-ish persuasion, and I've brought this up a few different ways already so this was probably D or E on the planning list. But you've gotten my attention because I came into this with a determination and goal in mind and now I'm wracking my brain wondering what would equal out having to tell Gilbert and the gang about us. What don't you want to tell me?"

Dropping her head to his Bonnie could feel the tautness in her face conscious of the fact she was giving him an irked look but it didn't affect Kai's tranquil and clear eyes gazing back at her patiently waiting. It hasn't been lies when she's drilled it into his mind that no one can know about them because of how they would react and that she finds an oddly satisfying thrill going on this rollercoaster of a private affair, but there is something Bonnie has never admitted to – barely acknowledging it in her mind. A notion that she chose to believe the very first night she slipped into Kai's bed and has held onto it like a life-force, using it to influence the out of character person she's become from being around him.

The first time Bonnie ever crossed over the line from whatever they were to ' _with-benefits_ ' she has held onto the illusion that since they were in a world of their own, all of the mishaps they've gotten into along the way were excluded from reality as well. She's never given herself a second to reflect over a traditional boyfriend-girlfriend relationship between the two of them because their shaky way of getting closer has been unconventional from the start. Living in an alternate dimension gave Bonnie the freedom to think and act a way that she was unenlightened to until meeting Kai and wanted desperately to stay within the bubble they've made, shaking deep in her bones at the thought of what will happen once it pops. What she found especially peculiar was her reluctance to verbally say what's increasing her heartrate, Bonnie's face burning with sheepishness.

"I promise… I'll tell Jeremy about us, soon," she declared through a small and anxious voice and felt his forehead crinkle, "well that's the opposite reaction of what I expected."

"Because that's not the answer I was waiting for."

"That is exactly what you've been wanting to hear me say for weeks! I – I'll – "Bonnie stumbled over her words, throat closing from being so high-strung and inhaled deep speaking with enunciation. "I will tell him. There, I answered one of your questions, now let me go."

Witnessing the wheels grinding through Kai's eyes as he looked between hers his arms started to loosen enough for her to roll her hips and sighed against his cheek, moving away before he tugged her back into him.

"I can't," Kai stated letting out a rough sound almost sounding like a laugh and had his left arm wrapped around her lower back as the other roamed across her skin. "I know you'll never tell me if I do and – really – I need to know. Can't you tell me anything by this point?"

Bonnie gazed at the deep line between his eyebrows and cocked her head seeing the corners of his lips turned down just enough to give him a look of dismay – one she's never seen cross Kai's features before – and felt her stomach twist painfully in response. Leaning forward Bonnie slid her tongue over his bottom lip to grant access and reached her other hand behind his head scratching his skull gently, the gesture a hopeful act that'll wipe both of their rattled expressions clean. Sighing through his nose Kai loosened his arm and cupped her jaw with both hands to angle her head and slid his tongue over hers making her toes curl.

The flash of hurt on his face was crystal clear through Bonnie's closed lids when he realized she was keeping something from him that had to do with them and felt something within her thawing at the recognition that Kai didn't press her past her comfort zone, opting to be the one left perturbed. Smiling against his lips at the consideration a surge of confidence charged through Bonnie kissing across his jaw and had one of her eyebrows resting against the bridge of his nose, staring down to avoid his captivating stare.

"I don't want anyone to know because then this becomes _real_ – not just the carefree good time we've been having – and I'm afraid if I put it out there I'll risk it all…"

"And it'll get taken away?" Kai finished after a few beats of silence and Bonnie's gaze popped up to his taken aback that he knew exactly what she was thinking, the soft smile starting to spread across his lips breaking off the last piece of her and sealed her lips over his.

Bouts of contrastive emotions were pouring out of her and harnessed it all into her kissing, a gruff sound enticing Bonnie farther and wrapped both arms behind his neck holding him close. Changing positions Kai leaned forward rising onto his knees securing her legs around his hips and held his neck tighter but felt unusually safe with his arm firmly behind her back, the sudden impact of gravity pushing Bonnie over the edge on the first thrust. Breaking the kiss a high-pitched noise escaped her throat sounding foreign in her ears followed by a stream of pants and moans as she shook uncontrollably in his embrace. Riding out her orgasm Kai's erotically sensual groans and husky breaths against her neck signaled his own undoing and the rawness was compelling Bonnie to trail scratches across the space between his shoulder blades. Kai's chest heaved against hers and tried blinking through her spotty vision, brushing her lips against the recently healed side of his neck and clung to him as she reclined back enough to see his face.

"You could keep a girl up all night waiting for you," Bonnie teased and a fleck of blue shined through his hooded gaze.

"That's my intention," Kai remarked through a lazy smile and tickled her back trailing his fingertips down her spine, "and just to clue you in, Scarlet; this is real."


	23. Chapter 23

An electric charge sizzled over Kai's stomach and up his chest, pausing over his heart and sending a jolt through his subconscious that he wasn't alone. Fingers twitching he breathed in deep and held it, the fight or flight instincts that he only ever chose one of kicking in when he sensed someone else's presence and stayed perfectly still, waiting. The pendant being lifted off of his chest sent a familiarity fluttering through his mind and exhaled slowly, the next inhale filled with the scent of Bonnie's shampoo and tilted his head towards her struggling to stay awake. The mattress moved as she scooted herself higher and then a hand was scratching at Kai's jaw lulling him with soothing strokes hearing a soft and raspy voice coo in his ear.

"Kai, wake up."

Protruding out a sound of protest from the back of his throat Bonnie's light laughter stirred something inside him and he scrunched up his nose and mouth getting hit with another blast of fatigue. Coming close to drifting off a sudden loss on his right side was quickly replaced with a pressure against his stomach and lifted his arms clasping them behind Bonnie's back to keep her against him. Cracking open his eyes a sliver a sweet smile was the first thing that came into view, lifting a corner of his mouth in the same attempt and trailed up to a pair of clear green eyes gazing back at him. Bonnie's legs flanked either side of his hips causing her to press firmly against his morning wood and swallowed the lump of dryness stuck in the back of his throat.

Stretching her arms over his head her chest pressed into Kai harder causing her to rub against him, not sure if the heat from last night still burned in Bonnie's eyes or if it was just wishful thinking. Running his hands down her backside he gripped her cheeks grinding her over him and his blood pressure rose hearing Bonnie's breath hitch, doing it once more before leaving sleepy kisses across her soft skin from shoulder to neck. Sighing against his cheek Kai's hands roamed across her back wrapping one around her middle drumming his fingers against her ribs as the other scratched underneath her hair, holding her close.

"I think we should always wake up like this."

"Naked?" Bonnie snickered into his neck.

"And happy," Kai concluded and felt her limbs curl into him more.

"Being in Paris doesn't ruin the appeal either."

"Speaking of, where should we go today?"

"Home," she sighed sadly and lifted her head to look over his face, "Caroline texted me and said she has a plan and not to worry, so I'm going to _try_ and take your advice and let her handle this without me… for now."

"Is that the _Choir of the Angels_ descending from above or did I hear you say you were _listening to me?_ " Kai expressed in a shocked tone and his smile spread hearing Bonnie humming high-pitched church sounds. "Then that alone is grounds for a commemoration, let's go out and enjoy this wondrous day."

"Well that's actually why I was waking you; our day has turned into the afternoon, it's already after 2PM."

"Seeing how we were still awake when the sun came up that's not surprising. But that works out even better because even if we did leave right away we wouldn't get back until 11 or midnight, when during that time you could have spent the entire day on an adventure."

"What do you have in mind?" Bonnie questioned with a peaked interest, the thrill reflecting in her irises.

"I have a little something cooking up," Kai nodded, wondering what her reaction will be, "I think you'll like it, and I know it's somewhere you want to go but we have to wait until tonight for it."

"Somewhere I want… the Eiffel Tower?" she rushed out putting two and two together and wiggled with excitement on top of him. "With how packed the day was yesterday I didn't even realize we never went there, but why would we have to wait until tonight?"

"Because that's when the thing is happening; we can still check it out during the day but we'll have to go back later too."

"I'm okay with that," Bonnie smiled in a temporary daze before blinking it clear, "so we'd take a midnight flight back?"

"Or an early morning one, whichever you'd prefer when the time comes but we can do either so don't get hung up on making it back and forget to enjoy what's in front of you, okay?"

Hearing the words out loud Kai pursed his lips and eyes trailed off to the side knowing Bonnie would have perceived that as talking about _him_ , and not the secret escapades they've been doing together. Shifting back to what he figured would be a raised eyebrow and backhanded comment about his infatuation with himself Kai tilted his head seeing the faraway look in Bonnie's eyes before coming back into focus and a genuine toothy grin spreading across her face.

"I think I can manage that, and since we have some time before then there is another place I've always wanted to go to if I ever made it here."

"Where's that?"

"There's this bridge somewhere called the _Pont des Arts_ and everyone sticks a locket along the sides, kind of like leaving an imprint of you here."

"Oh yeah?" Kai responded, knowing all too-well about the bridge Josette's lovey-dovey self always talked about and what it symbolizes. "Does it have any special meaning behind it?"

"Oh you know the Parisians – romanticizing everything, but I've heard people do it for good luck and a happy life and I could use both of those right about now."

"Interesting," Kai pondered, distinctively remembering his sister barreling on about couples doing it, "and you want to go there with me?"

"Oh – yeah, now that you mention it, I should see if Care's up for the trip," Bonnie stated in a serious tone and rolled her onto her back when she pretended she was getting up.

"I'd like to see you try," he rumbled out in his gruff-induced tired voice and leaned up on his hands and knees, mentally snapshotting this picture to memory. "So we need to buy locks and find a bridge in Paris, easy enough."

"I remember reading it crosses the _Siane_ or _Scene River_ ; something like that."

"The River Seine, yes I actually know where that is. That's one of the bridges you can cross to get to _Ile St. Louis_ which is the touristy amplified version of where we went to yesterday."

"More adorable boutiques?"

"And restaurants, perfect way to pass the time."

"Do you know if it's far from here?" she asked raking her nails up and down his arms.

"Maybe a ten minute drive from the Tower", he guesstimated, "or a forty minute walk, more or less."

"Usually I would be in favor of driving over anything but I think I want to take the scenic route today."

"Okay," he smiled leaning in and rubbing his nose across her cheek, "want to shower?"

"I already did while you were sleeping."

"Want to shower with me?" Kai specified checking her reaction and took her licking her bottom lip as confirmation.

Hopping over Bonnie's torso and landing on the hardwood floor he yanked at her legs turning them until they were hanging off the side and scooped her up twisting her legs behind him. Pivoting he waved his hand turning on the water and strode into the bathroom walking straight through the waterfall nozzles sealing his mouth over hers the same instant Kai pressed her into the soft cobblestones that flanked the wall from top to bottom behind the shower. Reaching for the nape of his neck Bonnie rubbed herself over him easily thanks to the steady stream and he could feel the droplets sizzling against his burning skin, gliding his hands all around her body squeezing and kneading as he went.

Reaching in between them Bonnie pushed his chest back to give them enough distance to wrap her fingers around the middle of his shaft with a tight grip and lead him towards her entrance; the untamed growl rattling deep in Kai's chest at her taking charge and being so assertive turning him on more than his sleep-rumpled hazy mind could handle. Tearing her lips away and letting out a piercing sound when he inched inside Kai took in her pained expression with his brows scrunched in concern; kissing all over Bonnie's face to diminish her tension and brushed his thumb over her worry lines. Moving into her ever so slowly Kai eased in and out leisurely like they had all of the time in the world and kept up the lazy pace, not overwhelmed with craving and lust to drive his mind and body like usual. Kai wanted to savor this moment – seeming so casual and bizarrely not out of the ordinary, and felt a blanket of warmth settle over him with what he could only describe as tranquility.

With closed eyes Bonnie brushed her lips over whatever was in front of her – his face, jaw, neck – letting out ragged breathes sending jolts down his spine and grunted when she squeezed her thighs around his. The affection of soft kisses and gentle brushes on Kai's skin was wearing him down too quickly in his freshly-awakened state and curled his arms pulling her snug, leaning forward to tower over her and held her weight with one forearm as the other rolled restlessly across her back. The longer he kept up the agonizingly slow pace the quicker his vision became spotty and blood roared in his ears, the tenderness Bonnie was showcasing causing him to struggle to hold himself off through gritted teeth dropping his head to her shoulder.

Kai couldn't figure out if his life depended on it what he's been going through since the merge; being around Bonnie setting off something within him he's never felt before that seems to become more unbearable and a bigger nuisance each and every day. The incessant need to be in her presence was getting on Kai's nerves as well as the knowledge that he hasn't learned how to tame it down yet, the two factors ganging up on him while his defenses are down. He couldn't shake the greed of needing to be closer – even now – and not having complete control over his thoughts and actions was freaking him out more than he'd like to admit.

Gliding his palm up Bonnie's ribs he made his way to her hand linking them together and squeezing, the charge of energy flowing through Kai's veins shooting out of his fingertips into hers and swayed from lightheadedness that overcame him every time. Hearing his name through her breathy tone was his Achilles heel, a shudder racking his frame and thrust forward hanging his mouth open slack-jawed with his with nose pressed to hers absorbing every sensual sound that spilled out of Bonnie's lips. The echoes of her sounds on top of her body spasming around him triggered Kai's own release and tilted his head kissing her with the only ounce of gentleness he had left – the beast inside begging to come out – and his speculation proved right as a dark rumbling sounded from the back of his throat.

Knowing he was still rock hard Kai pushed his thoughts as far away as possible from the fortunate position he was currently in and kissed his way to the back of her jaw, nibbling at her ear and smiling as Bonnie giggled and pushed her face into his neck. Humming at the feel of her fingertips sending an electric spark everywhere she touched his eyes closed when they trailed up his spine and lifted his head slowly as the water poured down his face. Tilting back Bonnie's tongue and lips pressed against his Adam's apple and Kai struggled to swallow, gazing back down at her through barely opened lids and puffed out a quick exhale. Sliding his palm along the side of her jaw he kissed her once more drawing out the rolls of his tongue and heard her breath catch, leaning back and watching it take another few seconds for a pair of emerald eyes to come into view.

"I think you're right, we should wake up like this more often," she nodded through sleepy flutters of her lashes and Kai chuckled running his hands over her soft skin.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rolling her eyes at the remark a smile still managed to creep across Bonnie's features inciting his own, "okay well seeing how you haven't actually _showered_ more or less just stood under the water, I'm going to let you take care of that while I get ready."

Sliding down slowly to her feet Kai stayed hovering close gazing down at clear unguarded eyes staring back at him, dropping lower to the corners of her lips curving and Bonnie leaned up on her tiptoes planting a quick kiss on him and running away swiping a towel beside her before he could hold her in place. Checking over his shoulder the sounds of Bonnie's joyfulness trickled across the room into his eardrums and loosened a tightness in his chest he hadn't realized was there, turning back and grabbing the shampoo quickly washing his hair and body.

Strolling back out with the towel around his waist Bonnie's back was facing him looking in the mirror and he froze mid-step, taking in her outfit. Opting for something she bought yesterday Kai raked her from the feet up; first over the pair of short black heeled boots, and pausing over the tight-fitted cloudy grey dress that hugged and highlighted every curve Bonnie had. The material wasn't of a flowing summer dress but more businesslike and gave her an aura of sophistication, the same effect that most Parisian styles exuded. Kai's favorite feature of the dress was that instead of a zipper going down the back there were two across the shoulders for easy access, sealing the clothing's fate and the girls who will be wearing it. His eyes flickered higher to her fixing a matching grey beret over her curly locks and reached for a half-cut black jacket with fur where the zipper would normally be all around her neck to the other side.

"Wow," Kai uttered out loud by mistake, Bonnie turning and scanning his body before meeting his eyes, "aren't you a knockout."

"Thank you," she uttered swiftly and eyes darted away looking off to the side, the smile spreading across his face practically feeling her cheeks burning from here.

The way the dress showed off her ass was enough to make Kai contemplate tearing the piece of clothing off of her already, and the front was not helping her case. The low-cut style made her chest look even more appealing with a small diamond necklace shimmering in the open space and the longer length of the material nearly to her knees with the heels made Bonnie look both taller and narrower, the overall effect causing Kai to evoke some nasty thoughts.

"Now I feel underdressed."

"Just barely," she smiled looking him over once more and he strolled casually over to her sliding his hands over her ribs up to her neck, the simple dark eye makeup making the flecks in her green irises pop and lashes looked fuller. "I feel so fancy."

"You look it."

"What are you going to wear?"

"What – you don't think I can get away with this?"

"You would definitely turn some heads," Bonnie agreed," but I think it might be a bit too chilly out there."

"You raise a find point; fine, I guess I'll have to go with my second option and choose that flawless Armani suit."

"Don't try to outshine me," she teased with a mock-grimace making him snort and kissed her nose.

"Not possible."

Pivoting and making his way through the pile of clothes scattered on the floor Kai picked up the white button up, boxers, dress pants, vest, and tie, a gesture of his hand picking up the scattered remnants and flinging them back to their original homes fully intact.

"Imagine how different chores could have been as a kid?" Bonnie laughed looking back and forth from the clean floor to the unbroken dresser, "I for one would have taken full advantage of that upside."

"Yeah that's how I convinced Josette to do most of the cleaning, bumping up her skills and what not," he murmured dropping the towel and slipping on the boxers followed by the pants.

Tucking the shirt into the waistband Kai buttoned it up to the top leaving the last one undone and rolled up his sleeves halfway, the onyx vest going on next and reached for the tie that he thought looked very similar to the color of his eyes. Swinging it over his head he left it there and checked his surroundings, putting on the dress shoes and scooping the fedora off the ground near the bedside table. Bonnie was at his side when he turned back and flipped up the collar of the shirt, tucking the tie behind it and doing a perfect Windsor knot on the first attempt. Flattening the bottom to his chest she looked around for the coat and crossed the room reaching into the pocket and pulling out a small silver clip. Sliding it over his tie and in his shirt the clip connected the two and buttoned up the vest over it leaning back and looking him over.

"So what happened to not upstaging me?"

"Oh Bon, you know you're always the most captivating person in the room," Kai argued, looking to the mirror over her shoulder and putting the fedora on tilting it to the side over his right eye, "but I am looking good today."

Snickering and turning on her heels Bonnie gathered up her things lifting a purse over her shoulder and slid on a pair of sunglasses. "You ready?"

"Lead the way," Kai grinned and followed her move, heading out of the room.

xx

"Look at this place!" Bonnie exclaimed enthusiastically, standing in the middle of the park in front of the Eiffel Tower and spun in a circle with her arms out, "have you ever seen something so beautiful?"

"Yep," Kai stated looking her over from the head down.

"Well this is a first for me," she responded craning her neck to look up at the massive structure, "are you sure we can't go up there just for a minute?"

"Nope, have to build up the suspense and yearning – makes the delayed gratification that much better. It'll be worth the wait."

"It better be," Bonnie huffed but didn't fight him on it, instead turning and taking in the rest of the view around them. "This is such a cozy spot; I would be here every day if I lived anywhere nearby."

"I spent some time here when I came to grasp that I had a lot of it on my hands being in a world of my own and I got to say, it's much more appealing with all of the people scattered about."

Scanning his surroundings the park was littered with lively folk taking in the day; smiling faces all around the fountain, spread throughout the grass, peering out from inside the Tower, and gliding across the ice-rink. The constant buzz made the square seem alive with its overload of energy and Kai's heightened sensitivity to magic had him drinking in the feeling, sliding his arms around Bonnie's waist as she was looking off in another direction and pulled her into him. Letting out a light sigh her body unwound in his arms and ran her nails over his forearms, the content radiating off of her over being in a place she's only dreamed about. Kai had a sneaking suspicion the fact that her friends weren't breathing down her neck filling her with tension and anxiety was also amplifying this bright and cheery mood and he was determined to keep her this way.

"Okay, we've already been here for almost an hour and we still have to walk to our next destination; let's do this."

The way the two of them could pass the time with conversation without running out of things to say never failed to bring a pleasantly surprised grin across Kai's face, not even Gabby being able to hold his full attention after six months and took a second to appraise Bonnie's firecracker personality matching the electrified power simmering under her skin. Strolling down the main streets of Paris he wasn't even paying attention to the scenery instead keeping his focus on the girl beside him, her laughter encouraging his breezy mood and by the time they arrived at the bridge had given serious thought to convincing Bonnie to stay here rather than go back home.

Fast-paced walking away from him Kai had to jog to catch up to Bonnie trailing her fingers over the thousands of locks aligning both sides of the bridge, reading off the names, dates, and quotes scribbled on a bunch of them. Pulling out the locks that they bought a couple blocks back he handed off the red one engraved with a heart to Bonnie and held onto the one that was all black with a gold King's crown in its center. Throwing it up high and catching it Kai followed the _ooh's_ and _aah's_ coming from three feet away and nearly tackled her when she stopped short.

"That's a good way to get crushed under my weight, Bon," he commented holding onto her forearms keeping her steady.

"I can think of better ways," Bonnie commented in a soft tone and threw a smirk over her shoulder glancing at his wide eyes, "but I think I found the spot I want."

Checking in front of him Kai noted she was practically past the pole at the end of the bridge and gave her a skeptical look. "You mean in the water?"

"No, smartass," she responded without missing a beat and crouched down hitting a metal ring hanging off of the pole, "dangling right here."

"Huh," Kai laughed looking over at the cluttered iron gates of locks jutting out and back to where Bonnie chose; quaint and untouched. "You're very intriguing."

"What makes you say that?" Bonnie asked popping up on her feet and reaching into his pants pocket for the silver sharpie, scribbling her name on the backside of the lock.

"Just an observation," he commented amused and copied her, looking over Bonnie's shoulder as she looped hers around the ring and locked it with the heart facing them.

A raise of his eyebrow signified an idea and crouched beside her linking his lock through hers and closing it. Standing and swinging around the pole Kai dangled over the water and read the locks together.

"Bon-Kai… _hah!_ I think I just came up with our nickname," he grinned wide bouncing slightly and Bonnie snorted.

"Oh, how original."

"I like it; it flows, and it's simple."

"The opposite of us," Bonnie concluded and he took on a look of mock-hurt, lifting his hand to his chest and swaying back causing her to reach out and grab him by the tie.

"Afraid I'll be lost at sea if I fall into the river?"

"More like you get yourself arrested and I'm not able to bail you out because I don't know what anyone's saying."

"I'm being the quintessential tourist right now," Kai rebutted scooting back around the poll and leaning against it lacing his fingers through hers.

"Exactly, that's where you'll find the rest of the Americans," she stated as if it was obvious and Kai's laughter boomed against the mild chatter going on around them. Making a noise of excitement Bonnie unlinked their hands reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone, bending down and angling it before taking a photo. "Look, you can see the Eiffel Tower behind them across the water."

"You wouldn't think it would take over a half an hour to get from here to there," he remarked over her shoulder and smiled at their locks hanging together away from everyone else's. "I like the picture."

Doing a little wiggle of glee Bonnie tossed the phone in her purse and held out her hand, waiting. "We can't forget about the most important part."

"Which is?"

"The _keys_ ; you're supposed to make a wish and throw it into the river."

"Oh right," he recalled and reached in his pocket for both keys handing one to her, "what are you going to wish for?"

"I can't _tell you_ … have you never had a birthday before? If we tell each other our wishes they won't come true."

"See I don't believe that; I think if you vocalize what you want and put it out there than the Universe becomes aware of it and therefore can make it happen."

Bonnie stared at him with a perplexed expression, somewhere in between confusion and irritation. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult?"

"I think I simplify things," Kai shrugged tossing the key in the air.

"I can assure you – you don't. Okay ready? Make a wish."

Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut and Kai observed her on his left, lip curving at how hard it looked like she was concentrating before launching the key like a football as it soared into the water. Checking his palm Kai tossed it up once more – willing Bonnie to tell little Gilbert and the Scooby Gang about them – and spun around throwing it over his shoulder.

"So I wished that you-"he began before a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shh, you're going to ruin – wait did you say me?" Bonnie asked cutting herself off and his concealed smile spread. "No, your wish won't come true if you say it out loud."

"Pretty sure that's not what's interfering with my wish becoming a reality," Kai retorted and she dropped her hand.

"Well it'll seal its fate; do you really want that to happen?"

Clicking his teeth together considering his options a frustrated sound of backing down erupted up his throat and Bonnie smiled in satisfaction. "Fine, leave both of our deepest desires up in the air to possibly be heard and answered one day; we'll see how that works out."

"Sounds like a plan, where to next?"

"If we continue on across this here bridge I can show you," Kai commented with a grand gesture for her to walk first and she reached back grabbing his hand before moving.

Crossing over the bridge they were immediately met with a crowd of people flocking the open streets and weaved their way through them, keeping her close out of harm's way from flying elbows. If where they visited the other day was the equivalent of a shopping mall then this was a Cathedral, flanked with streets of different shops and kicked up a notch by being the usual touristy spot. The hours blended into the next going from boutiques to gift shops, art galleries, toy stores, and even wandered through the stranger stores like one that sold home-made puppets. They had already picked at a couple of treats from the bakery and ate dinner at _L'ilot Vache_ ; a small restaurant serving traditional French food that Bonnie couldn't get enough of. After another hour of walking a sign caught his eye and pointed to it with avidity.

"Kai we _just_ ate."

" _Dinner_ , but this is dessert. Look the sign even says, " _Glaces et Sorbets; the best ice cream in Paris."_

"Does it really say that or are you just exaggerating because you want to try it?"

"I would never lie about the quality of sorbet," Kai said in an insulted tone and lifted his nose walking across the street without looking back, his hand clasped around hers signifying Bonnie wasn't far behind.

Choosing one of the options that was coated in caramel in chocolate chips Kai had eaten nearly half of it gripping the side of his head by the time Bonnie got hers.

"What's wrong?"

" _Brain freeze,_ " Kai gritted squeezing his eyes and shaking his head once to clear the throbbing, taking another bite into the creamy sorbet.

"Gee I wonder why," Bonnie laughed watching him bite into it and licked the vanilla ice cream off the spoon, liking her choice seeing it swirled with cut-up strawberries and drizzle. "Do you usually get them when you have ice cream?"

"Every time."

"Then you've been doing it _wrong_ , you have to lick it-"

Before she could finish her sentence Kai's devilish grin made an appearance playing through all of the times using his tongue has worked in his favor, not snapping out of it until his nose felt cold. Coming back into focus Bonnie stuck the tip of her finger into her mouth smiling and he raised a brow wiping away the vanilla and caged her to the wall outside of the shop, her flails and squeals not saving her as Kai pushed his plastic bowl full of savory goodness onto her neck below her chin. Swatting at him in between fits of giggles he slid his tongue over her skin lapping up the drips feeling her pulse racing against his lips and grazed his teeth across the rapid beating.

Dropping lower into her cleavage to make sure he got it all Bonnie's hand in his hair tugged him back up and looked into her eyes the same instant she pulled his mouth to hers, wrapping her arm around his shoulder drawing him in closer. Taking the lead Kai pressed his front flat against hers and reached up with his empty hand grabbing the other side of her neck and deepening their connection. A light sound of laughter from the back of Bonnie's throat had him smiling against her mouth and pressed his nose and forehead to hers pulling his lips away.

"Mm caramel tastes so good on you."

"Now I'm a mess."

"Pretty sure I got it all," he assured and gave her another once-over biting at the side of her neck, "but that was delicious."

Pushing him away with a bright smile Bonnie brushed the front of her dress of wrinkles and touched the side of her neck, judging if it was still sticky. "All of that because of a dollop of vanilla on your nose, way to overreact."

"I told you, in my nature," Kai stated as if it should already be common knowledge and looked off in the distance to the sun setting. "We should get going, are you ready for your surprise?"

Speeding past him towards the bridge seemed to be a reasonable answer and he kept up with Bonnie's pace, making it back in half of the time it took them to walk earlier. Just as many if not more people were still littered around the park lingering for the same reason as Kai led her to the Tower, asking if she'd rather take the lift or stairs.

"How many steps would you say are in here?"

"700, give or take, but if you want to go to the first level we'll have to do the stairs because the lift goes straight to the second."

"Race you to the top!" Bonnie beamed and took off racing her little legs up every step, Kai sniggering at her valiant effort and bolted to the top of the first landing skipping them three at a time.

"You're going to have to try harder than that to beat me," he taunted and heard Bonnie mutter something gluing his feet to the floor staring back at her with astonishment, mouth hanging open through a smile and let out a sound of hilarity.

Breaking free Kai quickly gained speed and kept a close distance more invested in the chase than beating her. Hitting the top step Bonnie let out a gust of air being out of breath and leaned forward with one hand on her knee as the other was raised victoriously.

"I won."

"I think we both made out pretty well in that," he remarked stepping onto the first level, not winded in the least. "What do you want to check out first?"

"I have no idea, what's up here?"

"A lot of history, really. Most of the exhibits you'll find relate to the architecture and construction of the building through videos, pictures, games, manuscripts – the works."

Grabbing his hand Bonnie took off in a direction with determination, soaking in all of the history the Eiffel Tower had to offer and seemed genuinely enthused even through the boring parts. Spending at least a half an hour listening to automated voices drone on Kai convinced her to take the lift up to the next level gazing out through the panorama view of the metal bars all around them as they elevated higher. Stepping onto the second level it was obvious this was where the majority of civilians were located, seeing as it has the best viewing areas of the city at a reasonable height. Telescopes were littered all around and they took turns checking out the different aspects around them, Kai zooming in on their hotel balcony and had Bonnie check while he whispered reminders in her ear of the night before.

The restaurants got a passing glance as Bonnie booked it for the souvenir shop, touching all of the items and looked overjoyed surrounded by random knickknacks. Not able to pass up a little Eiffel Tower keychain in the majestic structure itself she walked with an extra pep in her step swinging the ring around her finger, looking at the item as if it was gold. The last place they visited on the floor was one Kai was eager to see; the new glass-viewing platform in a corner to show you the ground below your feet. Bonnie was hesitant at first but once Kai scared her and everyone else on the platform when he jumped a few times to test it out she crossed the invisible floor to stop him and pressed her palms to his vest, steadying herself.

"This is so weird."

"And so _cool_ ; we're practically floating."

Hanging there for another minute or two Bonnie sounded full of eagerness and sheer terror vocalizing that she wanted to continue on to the next level. "I can't say that I was in the Eiffel Tower and didn't have the courage to go all the way up to the top, I'll never forgive myself."

"It is _quite_ the view – especially at night, you'll be happy with your decision," Kai expressed influencing her resolution and strode into the lift, only a couple of other people going up with them and felt her arm pressing into his side the higher they went.

Arriving at the top everyone else filed out of the lift leaving just the two of them and gazed down his nose to her anxious expression, holding out his hand for her to take and Bonnie smiled placing her palm over his. Stepping out onto the covered level the 360 degree view was easily seen through a metal-link fence and Kai urged her to take the lead and move to one of the sides.

"You're really trying to pop my bubble of comfort, aren't you?" Bonnie asked through sliced eyes making him chuckle and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind resting his forearms against her chest.

"I've been doing that since the day we met," Kai commented close to her ear and put pressure against her back until she took a step forward and lead her to the railing on the side, looking over the city.

"Woah," Bonnie breathed as her body unwound a fraction with it and reached up to curl her fingers over his forearms, using him caging her in as a safety net and leaned forward staring straight down swaying immediately. "Holy..."

"I know, right?" he agreed dropping his chin to her shoulder, scanning over the lights speckled across the city. "If you stand very still you can feel the Tower moving from the force of the wind."

Tightening her grip on him Kai could feel the shiver overcome Bonnie's small frame and kept her snug in his embrace for a few more minutes until he remembered he was on a time frame and checked his watch.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing, we just have about a minute and a half to get back down to the second level and find somewhere with a clear view," he stated offhandedly and let her out of his tight hold, taking the lift back down and searched the crowd for the ideal spot.

Locating an opening up against the railing Kai maneuvered through everyone with Bonnie in front and leaned into her grabbing the rails on either side of her hands; wanting to laugh that his possessive and proprietorial side hasn't lessened any – possibly even amplified since his run in with an emotional Hell. A sound like a rocket going off signaled the beginning of the show followed by an explosion of fireworks trickling down directly in front of them. More rocket noises started going off followed suite by blasts and shimmers of fireworks erupting quicker than they could disappear. The sky was lit up in gold trailing all the way down to the fountain that also had at least two dozen small streams shooting in the air.

Time seemed to stand still lost in the bliss that had everyone absorbed and after fifteen minutes the sound of rockets began shooting off by the bundle; that mixed with the fountain nozzles jumping to twenty feet high filled Kai with excitement that the finale was starting. One explosion began bleeding into the next but the faint sounds of awe and exhilaration could still be heard, the rumblings of Bonnie's noises against his chest bringing a smile to his face. Wiggling in her small circle of confinement she turned and pressed her back to the railing gazing into Kai's eyes with a look so full of joy it made his chest ache, groaning softly under his breathe before closing the bit of distance left.

Letting go of the rails to wrap his arms around her waist Bonnie threw her body into his knocking Kai off balance and sidestepped so they both ended up with one side facing the fireworks, deepening the kiss with his movements. Feeling Bonnie's arms pulling his neck in tighter the same grin spread across his face getting hit with a wave of dizziness seeing the flashes of bright lights going off in front of his closed eyelids. Semi-aware that he was holding her so tight she must be running low on oxygen, Kai loosened his grip enough that she was able to stand comfortably in his arms and felt the absence of Bonnie's lips against his all too soon. Dropping his head down lower with eyes still closed he rested his forehead on hers and nose against her left cheek, Bonnie's right hand ghosting up his vest pausing over his rapid heartbeat and stayed that way as the booms and blasts continued on.

"Vous deux Bless!" sounded off to Kai's right and turned opening his eyes to an exuberant middle-aged Frenchman bouncing towards them flailing around two polaroid's in his hand. Shifting Bonnie within his grip the man kissed both of her cheeks followed by his and thrust the photographs into her hand. "Un tel beau moment capture a jamais. Ah Paris, la ville de l'amour."

Pecking their cheeks once more the man danced out of sight with his camera raised and Kai looked down in between their chests to the old-school Polaroid's Bonnie was already examining. The first photo that caught his attention was a snapshot during the heat of their impassioned kiss with the fireworks going off behind them, now certain in his assessment of how hard he was squeezing her and angled his line of view for a better look and smirked noting Bonnie was on her tiptoes even in the heeled boots. The second photo he found himself staring at longer, getting a lightheaded buzz like when you're in the middle of a daydream. The Frenchman snapped a shot right after she had broken the connection and their foreheads stayed pressed together, eyes closed, with her palm flat on his chest. Kai scooped the photograph out of her hand bringing it closer to his face and felt a surge flood through his system seeing Bonnie's soft smile shining back at him. The finale had just about ended but trickles of gold were still visible raining down on the other side of them; the third party perspective really giving off the illusion that they were a happy couple.

"We look good together," Kai commented through an uncontained grin, "I'd say _picture perfect._ "

Snorting at his cheesiness Bonnie swiped the picture back out of his hand and looked down at them shielding her face but not before he caught the flush of heat that traveled up her neck inflaming her cheeks. Curling his arms Kai hugged her into his chest – with her hands crushed between them and all – and breathed in the intoxicating scent of her that was becoming all too familiar. A minute or two later her hands found their way to his back and stayed locked in each other's embrace as people started to pass them by heading back towards the exit. Pivoting Bonnie moved so she could look out over the city and reached for his hands entwining her fingers through his and wrapping them around her waist like a blanket. Minutes passed by like seconds, lifting his chin off of her shoulder to discover they were the only ones left and felt her body beginning to shiver as a breeze kicked up.

"Kai?" sounded softly from her lips the same moment he opened his to ask if she wanted to go and turned her head locking in on his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"'I'm happy that you're here with me."

Feeling the goofy grin spread across his face Kai's entire body relaxed on the next exhale and briefly pulled her in tighter, rubbing his nose over hers. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

Brushing his lips against hers he made a mental note that this trip to Paris had without a doubt skyrocketed to the top three favorite moments he's spent with Bonnie and was already planning the next act to sweep her off of her feet.


	24. Chapter 24

A high-pitched continuous ringing chimed through Bonnie's subconscious pulling her from a sleep-induced coma and groaned running her fingers over the side of her face, the steady rhythm of a heartbeat directly under her left ear. Cracking open a lid Kai's bare chest was the first thing that came into view, lifting her head and looking left to his sleeping face then to her own position – sprawled across his torso with legs entangled in his. The ringtone started up again and Bonnie hopped off the bed following the sound across the room to the dresser where her purse sat, digging through the contents locating the cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered in a quiet voice checking over her shoulder to see if Kai stirred.

"So you take an impulse trip to Paris with your prison-mate and that's the last time I hear from you?" Elena interrogated hearing the smile in her tone, "like I don't worry about the two of you together enough."

Laughing out a quick sound of nervousness Bonnie's eye-line trailed down to her practically naked self besides her underwear and felt another built up noise threatening to spill out, looking over the immediate area for clothes and spotted the white button-up Kai was wearing yesterday thrown across the ottoman. Sliding her arm's through the sleeves she buttoned one across her chest and opened the newly fixed glass door moving onto the balcony.

"You wouldn't believe how easy it is for time to slip away from you here, this city is amazing."

"Yeah the fact that my two best friends are in Paris while I'm cleaning the Salvatore house is a painful reminder of how long you've both been gone. Care filled me in on the Masquerade party you all went to – again, over here… not basking in that way of life – but what's been going on since then?"

"I've been your typical tourist; wanting to go everywhere I could find and see everything possible. I went to two different places that had streets full of stores and places to shop… and take a wild guess where I ended the night yesterday?" she goaded through a bright smile leaning against the railing and staring up at the enormous structure.

"No…"

" _Yes_ , my number one checked off the bucket list; I have been inside the Eiffel Tower, and it somehow exceeded my unreachable expectations."

"And were you _alone_ during the most romantic moment of your life, or did you happen to have someone special with you?"

"You know who was with me," Bonnie grated through an eye roll and heard her laughter on the other end.

"I do, so should I accept that answer as a 'yes'?"

"No, even though I know you already did," she brushed off, "did you say you were cleaning Damon and Stefan's place?"

"Yeah" Elena huffed, "really it's just the essential places like the living room, kitchen, and everything connected between the two but this is a task set out for our party planning friend, it's a shame she's a continent away. It's actually why I'm calling since I was afraid if I didn't the day would pass right by you."

"Why, what's today?"

"You know, just a day we always spend together and usually have a big bash in celebration – there are presents involved."

Reality came crashing through Bonnie's bubble of French tranquility and covered her mouth, pacing. "It's Christmas Eve?"

"That must be _some_ vacation you're having," Elena expressed, "remind me to ask you about it next time I see you, which will hopefully be tonight. Caroline's still with Stefan so I don't think we should be expecting them but I do recall her opening up the invite list during a party at Whitmore, so there will be a few more party guests this year."

"I will be there, I'm leaving as soon as possible," Bonnie promised.

"Well you still have plenty of time, last time I checked my phone it was just barely past 7AM."

Bonnie pulled the cell away checking the top of the screen, "It's already after _noon_ here! And the flight is over eight hours."

"That's excruciating, but the time differences means you'll make it back here earlier - when exactly I don't know," she finished through a laugh and yelled away from the phone for Jeremy's help.

"Sounds like you've got your hands full, I'll pack up and let you know when the next flight is."

"Okay, be safe, love you!"

"Love you too," she smiled and hung up, high-tailing it into the room and standing beside the bed. "Kai we have to go, wake up."

Not responding fast enough Bonnie shook his shoulders saying his name in a more stern voice and Kai's eyes shot open, bolting upright and grabbing hold of her wrist. Seeing the rage etched under his sleepy features his expression didn't falter until their eyes locked and Kai dropped her arm as if she'd burned him, scanning the rest of the room looking disoriented and rubbed at his eyelids.

"Wow Bon, that has to be one of the worst ways you've gone about waking me, and I've taken a drink to the face."

"I said ' _wake up, we have to go'_ first," Bonnie argued crossing her arms.

"So this was your immediate follow-up option," Kai snorted lifting his head from his palms looking even more tired, "next time, _anything else_ will work just fine."

"And what would you suggest?" she wondered cocking her head to the side and felt his arm snake around her waist pulling her sideways across the bed with Kai on her left leaning up on an elbow. Taking in her face – after an extensive examination of what she was wearing – all traces of the abrupt spike in his temper had vanished, leaning in slow enough to make Bonnie's pulse race and lick her lips in response. Closing in until he was a breath away Kai ducked his head nibbling the side of her neck sending waves of goosebumps over her skin as she squirmed away laughing at the ticklishness. " _Okay_ – okay, I'll think of more creative ways instead of scaring you."

"Please, nothing scares me," Kai remarked leaning up giving her a rehearsed ' _tough-guy_ ' façade.

"Nothing?" Bonnie asked in a soft tone seeing a shift in his manner before his lip curved wiping it away.

"I'm the thing that people are afraid of, remember?"

Reaching down to his hand resting against her stomach her fingers trailed up his arm and across his collarbone, resting on his neck. Looking into the two pools of blue that Bonnie has committed to memory she thought back to when she was someone who was frightened just by being in Kai's presence, and a wave of heat burned deep in her belly reflecting on what she now feels when she's with him.

"Vaguely," Bonnie uttered casually and Kai blinked a few times like he was taken off-guard, her gaze trailing down to the genuine smile spreading and his hand lifted her head off the mattress bringing her lips to his. Feeling his weight start to press into her she made a sound of protest before breaking the kiss. "Kai we really have to go."

"What's the rush?"

"Well… it's Christmas Eve, for one," she stated and watched him take on the same look of surprise she was sure she was sporting when she heard the news before he erupted in laughter.

"Wow that really snuck up on us."

"And bit us in the ass, because now we have to take a day long flight back home and then go straightaway to the Christmas party."

"I'm never going to escape that Boarding house," Kai grumbled correctly assuming where it would be held and trailed his middle finger against the small sliver of skin between the open buttons gliding higher as he spoke, "do we really have to go this second?"

"It's already almost one in the afternoon and we haven't even checked flight times yet."

"They're six hours behind us, which means we have a decent sized open window to do whatever our hearts desire," Kai soothed sliding his finger over the single button holding the shirt together and knew if he got it undone her attempts and motivation would diminish altogether.

Grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers Bonnie leaned up and into him making it seem like she was going to lie on top of him and waited until he fell to his back before scrambling backwards off the bed, grinning at his tired groan of defeat.

"Now put some clothes on and get your stuff together, I'm checking the flights now."

"Say you catch one in an hour; that means we'd get there around 4:30 and would still have a few hours to kill before we had to leave."

"I don't want to risk it, at least in your scenario I'm down the road not across the Atlantic."

"And away from all of our troubles," he reminded her, "and now we get to go back; can't wait."

"I can tell by your enthusiasm," she retorted sarcastically and looked down absorbed in her phone, Kai's bulking frame passing by drawing in her attention.

"Where are you going?"

"Breakfast," he tossed over his shoulders, still only in his black boxer-briefs.

"Kai-"

"It's the most important meal of the day, Bon. Besides I need the energy, you're draining it all out of me."

"Wh-"Bonnie began that ended in a laugh, knowing all too well that it was the other way around and stayed in the room a minute longer checking the departure times before meeting him in the kitchen. "Okay there's a flight at 3:30PM, so that means we'd get back around…"

"6PM; eight and a half hour flight and they're six hours behind."

"I am going to be so out of it when we land after a day and a half and time-wise it'll only be a couple of hours later."

"Jetlag; the worst part of traveling, but at least we won't be starting off on an empty stomach. As far as the options go – it's pretty limited, I would have made you a proper Christmas breakfast if I had the right tools so we'll have to make do with what we have."

"Which is?"

"Bacon and eggs," Kai shrugged as if it was a step below going hungry and her mouth watered at the sound of it.

"That sounds great, what's the problem?" she questioned and he made another noncommittal gesture, throwing on the slabs of bacon listening to it sizzle.

Sitting in one of the small seats Bonnie rested her chin against her locked fingers watching Kai saunter around seeming like he took up most of the space in the kitchen, chatting away mindlessly and continuously glancing over to her as he cooked. Getting out the plates from the cupboard overhead Kai scooped half of the contents onto one plate sliding it across the island to her and made his way to the fridge, pulling out the pitcher of ice water and pouring her a glass.

"I can put on a pot of coffee if you'd prefer."

"This is fine," she smiled up at him, taking a sip, "thank you."

Giving her a satisfied grin he poured another glass for him and made a plate, sitting to her right. "So who's going to be at this festive event?"

"Usually it's just the group of us – small, quaint, but Elena said Care started inviting people during a party at the dorms so now your guess is as good as mine."

"Think Damon will be upset I don't have a present for him?"

"Absolutely," she smirked in return, "fortunately I just spent a couple of days in paradise with a goldmine of things to choose from, I lucked out."

"Yeah gift shopping just didn't seem to make the cut on the list of things to do while we're here; I hope they still got me something nice."

"If there was anyone that was going to buy you something it would the only girl who _isn't_ going to be at the party."

"Just my luck," he vocalized enunciating each word, "I guess I'll just have to be happy with yours."

Bonnie let out a sound of laughter through her mouthful of food, almost spitting some of the eggs out. "Who said I got you anything?"

"You bought something for everyone else _but_ me?" Kai shot back sounded unconvinced and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Did you see me getting anything for you during our two day shopping spree?"

"I could ask the same question," he replied smoothly and Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "I rest my case."

Shaking her head with a smile Bonnie bit off a piece of bacon and finished off the rest of her plate a few minutes after Kai and dragged him back into the room to pack, staring at her through a coy manner and waved his hand around carelessly, their suitcases floating onto the bed followed by a flitter of clothes all packed in nice and tight.

"Show off."

Shuffling through the clothes that hadn't been packed yet she picked out an outfit for the flight back – not bothering to dress up for tonight until she was home – and blew out an uneasy breath, a sense of dread overcoming her feeling like she was about to be plucked from a daydream and dropped into a nightmare.

-x—x—x—

"I am not getting on another plane for a very long time," Bonnie finalized stepping out of the car and headed to the front door, not having to carry in the suitcases that are already magically inside.

"Oh the journey was worth the destination, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, but that does not mean I'm eager to jump on board for another eight and a half hour stretch."

"But who will be my traveling companion?" Kai said in a sad voice following her through the front door and down the hall.

"I hear Elena's available."

"That doesn't shock me," he snickered and let out a sound of agony when Bonnie swatted at his arm. "Would ' _she's not my type_ ' be a more suitable answer?"

"Very." Turning into the room and heading for the closet Bonnie rummaged through the clothes seeming to be looking for something in particular and pulled out a short green long-sleeve dress. "I've wanted to wear this since we first got back, I bought it that day out with Caroline and Elena and I've finally found the occasion."

"Curious to see how it looks on you, I'll let you get changed and go find something to wear."

Heading back into the living room where their suitcases sat Kai picked up one and put it on the couch, digging through the contents of new clothes and pulled out a faded white sweater he wanted because it was so soft and yanked off his t-shirt switching the two. Sliding on a pair of light brown jeans he put back on his boots and made his way back to the room, skimming down Bonnie's frame noting the jagged end stopped in the middle of her upper thighs and felt his body temperature rise.

Scanning up the tight-fitted lacy design his jaw clenched seeing her breasts visible through a criss-cross of string holding the fabric together. The top crosses underneath her collarbone over to her shoulders leaving her bare chest open and he could see her skin through the lace on her arms and over her chest dipping low enough to invoke something animalistic within him. The shade of green was as close to a Christmas tree as possible bringing a smile to his face and gazed up to her checking him out too. Striding across the room in the same pair of black heeled boots Bonnie slid her hands over his chest and around his ribs pressing against him in an embrace, curling his arms around her shoulders and dropping his face to her neck breathing in deeply.

"Mm this sweater feels so nice."

"Paris has the best clothes," he grumbled against her skin, "and yet your dress from Virginia has my outfit paling in comparison."

"Modesty looks weird on you," Bonnie chuckled leaning back and giving him a once over igniting Kai's playful side.

"Well I guess I _haven't_ seen how I look in the mirror yet," Kai shrugged and her smile lit up.

"There he is."

"Where I've always been – invading your personal space."

"You're not wrong," she nodded and her arms twitched momentarily tightening her grip on his back.

"You have full access to invade every part of me, if that helps," he offered and Bonnie pursed her lips seeming to mull it over.

"It does."

Leaning down with a wide grin Kai pressed his lips to hers gently, patiently waiting for Bonnie to open her mouth and glided his tongue across her teeth hearing her breath catch. Tilting he rolled his tongue over hers listening to the sharp and shaky exhale sounding like she was struggling to respire and pulled back, observing Bonnie's head sway before she opened her eyes.

"Are you sure we have to leave our pocket of tranquility? Days of no worrying, no fighting, enjoying each other's company; main factor of us being alone during all of those times."

"I would be lying if I said that same thought hasn't crossed my mind, but we've made it this far, might as well finish strong."

"Alright but at the first sign of trouble I'm teleporting us out of there."

"You don't know how to teleport," she said as a matter of fact, wavering the longer she looked at him, "…right?"

"I can do it to objects, people can't be that much different," Kai deduced and her body shook with laughter against his stomach.

"I'm not going to be the test monkey you shoot off into space to see if I can survive it."

"Hey Albert was a hero," he rebutted in a stern tone that was vanquished the instant Bonnie's light sounds of amusement trickled throughout the room, her merriment infectious.

"You _would_ know his name."

"I know both of their names," Kai exuded with exaggerated confidence, puffing out his chest into hers for a beat before deflating. "Albert ll lived a much fuller life."

"You are the most ridiculous person I know," Bonnie got out between the laughter, "but at least I won't get bored, and know I'll always be learning random blips of information."

"That should be the title of my Encyclopedia."

"I think you could sell some copies," she played along making him want to keep her here to himself even more, "come on, I have to wrap everyone's presents and then we can go."

Backing out of his hold around her Bonnie darted out of the room and came back with one of the suitcases, hurling it onto the bed and unzipping it showcasing an array of items. Taking out everything and moving the suitcase she closed her eyes and held her hand out, muttering something out of earshot and waving her palm over them as each item morphed into a wrapped gift.

"Magic, such a sexy character trait," Kai remarked leaning back against the bit of wall next to the open door halfway across the room.

"Even when it's used against you?" she said with doubt in her tone, curling his lip in a devious way.

" _Especially_ then."

Rolling her eyes and letting out a scoffed sound Bonnie scooped up a few of the gifts and strode towards him handing them off to him.

"Hold these for one minute."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to get a huge bag, like Santa? I for one am preferable over the tight green outfit over the red and white fat-suit."

"It does sound tempting," Bonnie huffed balancing the rest of them in her hands and sped past him most likely not to drop any of them heading straight for the door.

Able to balance the items easily Kai scooped his keys off the table near the stairs and opened the door motioning for her to go first. Not so tenderly tossing everything in the backseat they both melted into the seats and listened to his baby purr to life. Zipping down the road they made their way to the next destination which, thanks to his new ride, had them arriving in half the amount of time. Examining Bonnie's anxious expression Kai felt a pang of aggravation that her friends had already managed to summon an emotion out of her that he's been able to keep dormant for days.

"Hey," he murmured reaching to hold the side of her neck, "you sure you don't want to just leave the gifts on the door and run – _Kris Kringle_ style?"

Watching the relaxing smile spread Kai looked up to the little crinkle lines between her eyebrows disappearing and Bonnie turned her face into his palm resting her cheek and lips against him for a few more seconds before regaining her composure. Carrying a few items at a time they placed the wrapped boxes along the brick wall where they played out a scene in _Clue_ just as Elena swung open the door.

"You made it!"

Crossing the porch she enveloped Bonnie in an embrace squeezing her tightly and eyes trailed over to Kai standing behind them. Giving her a lopsided grin he looked them over as they broke apart and noted Bonnie's bright smile from the side of her profile. Scooping up a few presents Kai and Elena followed her lead and carried them all through the house dumping them under the tree in the living room. Scanning the surroundings his smile spread wider seeing the festiveness trickled around the room with lights, garland, trinkets, and music. It wasn't nearly up to par with his skills but he could still appreciate the effort, looking up to the tree that's probably three times the size of theirs.

"The room looks great Elena," Bonnie commented.

"The final outcome is nice but putting it together, not so much," she remarked with a shake of her head before trailing over the two of them – and their comfortable close proximity. "But enough about me, I want to hear _all_ about what you've been up to the last few days. You don't mind if I steal her, right?"

"As long as you give her back after," Kai said smoothly, Elena raising her brows in response.

"Maybe at the end of the night," she retorted linking her arm with Bonnie and dragged her away, his teeth clenching in response.

Moving over to the liquor table behind the couch Kai poured a hefty glass and drank half of in one gulp, refilling it before making his way around the room examining the dozen or so college kids intermingling with each other. The first hour seemed to go off without a hitch – with the help of a nice buzz sizzling through him – and always seemed to have Bonnie somewhere within eyeshot, seeing her spend an abundance of time with Elena before getting whisked off by Damon.

The next hour crept through a little more chaotically, simultaneously keeping half of his attention on the Bennett witch across the living room while the other half kept up small-talk with the people coming up to him. The girls were certainly not as forward in the 90's, concluding that when two of them strutted towards him with confidence during separate times and laid on the batting eyelashes and flirtatious charm immediately. Neither seemed to be too fond of his go-to answer when they asked him why he was looking lonely and all by himself, but the third contestant seemed to find amusement in his sense of humor.

"I'm stalking someone."

"Oh really, who?" she wondered and Kai tilted his glass in Bonnie's direction, looking like she was in a heated debate with Damon. "Pretty."

"Mhm."

"So why don't you go talk to her?"

"This is more entertaining," he stated, not being dishonest and her lip curved leaning against the wall beside him.

"How so?"

"You get to use your imagination. Don't you like ' _people-watching_ '; just looking around at everyone during parties or places where everyone converges, like at a mall, and wonder what's going on? Take them for example, _Mr. Tall, Pale, and Brooding_ waving his arms around all bummed out while she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else; maybe they're breaking up."

"Well then there's your in," the girl on his right said with a cheery smile and lifted her bottle to clink off his glass, glancing back in their direction, "but you better move quick, it looks like she has another suitor already closing in."

Blood pressure rising Kai knew who he was looking for before he even turned his head, Jeremy striding across the room and standing next to Damon and Bonnie, the startled expression that crossed her face making his empty hand ball up into a fist by his side.

-x—x—x—

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Why not, maybe you can talk some sense into her," Damon retorted with a stern glare and stormed away, Jeremy turning to stand in his place.

"Everything alright?"

"Just swell," Bonnie said with an undertone of sarcasm and leaned in to give him a hug, "Merry Christmas Eve, Jer."

"Merry Christmas Bonnie," he murmured giving her a squeeze before leaning his head back. "So, Paris with a psychopath?"

Scoffing she shrugged out of his hold taking a step back and crossed her arms. "He's not some _psycho_ Jeremy, I think I have a pretty good frame of judgment after running across one or two over the years. And like I've told Elena _and_ Damon, Kai helped me flip Care's humanity back on and was almost killed by Stefan and his goons in the process."

"Really?" he laughed, "I guess he isn't as _almighty_ as he thinks."

Opening her mouth to defend him Bonnie closed it and stared at Jeremy with a blank expression, looking past him to Damon's decanter of Bourbon and set off towards it. Pouring half a glass she finished it in one sitting and placed it back on the table a bit too hard.

"I don't want to talk about Kai anymore."

"Good, let's talk about something better; us," Jeremy said sliding into the next topic taking a few steps over to the tree and crouching to pick one up before handing it to her.

"I'll get yours too," Bonnie offered going to step around him when he raised his hand to stop her.

"I'll open it after."

Knowing the focus was on her she could feel her heartbeat picking up and looked down at the rectangular gift that had some weight to it, reaching behind for the paper and opening it up slowly. Staring back at her was a picture of the two of them while they were dating, both huddled up close smiling brightly at the camera and it brought back the memories of the happiness she felt that day. The picture was in a see-through Spaceform glass frame with the words _I love you_ written across the top in cursive and the romantic gesture felt like an arrow to the heart, hit with an unbearable pang unable to breathe or see past the spots in her vision. Bonnie battled to keep her composure feeling her past and present clashing into each other like two freight trains, gripping the frame with such strength the tips of her fingers were losing circulation.

"Jer-"she managed to get out not taking her eyes off of the object.

"I know you said you wanted to take things slow before we started things up again but I figured we have to try easing back into it, and this is just a reminder of how much-"

" _Jeremy_ ," Bonnie said with more power behind her voice, looking up to him attempting to put on a small smile, "I can't accept this."

"Why not?" he asked drawing down his eyebrows and she checked over her shoulders to the couple settling in behind her in conversation, signaling to move behind him near the fireplace.

"Because you misunderstood what I was trying to tell you before. I know I said I needed time to figure everything out and a lot of things are still a jumbled mess up here, but my thoughts are clear when it comes to us."

"Glad to hear it," he grinned leaning closer and she raised her hands holding the frame to halt his movements.

"I love you Jer, and I'm sure I always will… but I'm not in love with you, not anymore."

The pleasant look on his face diminished instantly, flashes of confusion, exasperation, and skepticism passing over his features before he took a step closer, the frame in her hands a barricade between their chests.

"How are you so sure? We've spent almost a full year apart, some of the intensity is bound to slip away over that span of time and become a little dormant but that doesn't mean the feelings aren't still there."

"They aren't," Bonnie stated quietly with brutal honesty, remembering what she felt for him while they were dating against what she goes through when she's in his presence now. "If they were, I would be feeling similar to how I was when we took this picture, and a lot of things – both between us and in my life – have changes since then. I don't want to hurt you but I don't want to string you along either; you deserve to know the truth."

Bonnie's throat closed on the last word, chest tightening at the secrets that were still coated in her confession physically incapable of getting them out. She had promised Kai she would tell Jeremy about what was really going on between them and a part of her felt that same desperation for her friends to know the changes she's gone through – both about Kai and the revelations over herself. The other more dominant state of mind was still trapped in a hypersensitive chamber having control and ultimately the final say over what Bonnie will outwardly admit, this moment being a prime example. Voices started to fade out around her as the room seemed to turn dim and silent, internally demanding herself to just spit it out and tell Jeremy that she wanted to be with Kai but the overwhelming surge of uneasiness had her wary she was going to be sick.

"The _truth;_ you mean that I've spent the last year missing and mourning the love of my life hoping there was some way you were still alive and finding a way home, all the while I was the farthest thing from your mind. So when did you realize it? Before you left, the first time you saw me when you got back, or was it during the time you spent alone with the guy who killed his family? I would love to know the second you knew you _weren't_ in love with me."

Bonnie has seen Jeremy pissed off over vampires, disagreements over the course of actions she'd need to make in order to save their friends, and protecting his sister; and the predicament she found herself in now was another one she could add to the list. His posture was tense, fists at his sides, but it was the misery in his eyes that reflected with clarity the anguish he was feeling inside.

"I… don't know when it happened, or when I let myself believe it but I never wanted you to have to go through any of that, I had hoped you would focus on getting out of here through school and starting somewhere better. We live in a world full of the supernatural and you're one of the only normal people left in this town, I think you deserve more than what this place has to offer."

"I wasn't staying here for the _town_ ," Jeremy answered sharply, "I was waiting for you."

Trailing her eyes down to the fireplace Bonnie took slow breaths in and out letting the wave of guilt wash over her, knowing there was nothing she could do or say to mend what she's broken. Staring back up into his eyes she fought the urge of tears threatening to break free and let the culpability exude through her demeanor.

"I'm sorry."

Shaking his head through a sound of laughter mixed between disbelief and outrage Jeremy snatched the heavy glass frame out of her hand taking her by surprise and jumped back a step, gasping and throwing her hands to her chest watching him hurl it into the fireplace shattering it off the wall inside. Feeling her heart racing against her palms her eye-line followed Jeremy's path as he stormed across the room and up the steps, turning a corner before the loud slamming of the front door signaled his departure.

Sensing the shift in the room Bonnie scanned around the room quickly at all of the faces staring at her and took a step back bumping into the wall, her attention turning to someone walking towards her and threw her hand up stopping Kai in his tracks. The air seemed a few degrees warmer and had the sudden awareness like the walls were beginning to close in around her, taking one step to the left, and then another, gaining momentum and heading for the door leading into the dining room and continued on taking in shallow breaths in search of the back door. Pushing her body against the wood she stumbled out of the exit and took in a long inhale of fresh air as the cool wind blanketed over her face, arms, and legs.

Setting off down the small hill Bonnie didn't stop until she found where she was looking for and took the few steps into her _now-dead-from-being-malnourished_ Oasis Garden. Walking farther underneath the archway she managed to get a ways from the entrance and sat back against the fence until her butt hit the grass, bringing her knees up and hugging them against her chest. Bonnie wasn't there for no more than a minute before a deep voice descended through the passage.

"Figured I'd find you here," Kai concluded sitting to her right, "I told Elena to search upstairs."

"And I told you not to follow."

"Actually you motioned for me to stop walking – which I did, and then you starting going again so I accompanied you."

Not having the energy to do their usual back and forth Bonnie dropped her chin on one knee and tilted her head so her cheek rested on the other. "I don't know if I made the right choice."

"With what?"

"Coming here tonight, talking to Jeremy, leaving Paris," she mumbled, "take your pick."

"What did you say to Jeremy?" he asked hearing the intrigue in his voice and sighed.

"It's not the answer you're expecting, I couldn't get out the words to tell him about us. But I did get the point across that him and I will never be dating."

"How's that?"

"I told him I wasn't in love with him anymore," Bonnie uttered sadly staring away into the distance to avoid his gaze, "so I think he got the message."

Listening to the silence she waited for Kai to speak and after a minute looked over to his shit-eating grin stretching from ear to ear, glowering at him in response. Not in the mood for his gloating or his spike of happiness Bonnie tilted her head to rest and look in the opposite direction, swatting at his hand when it ran up her leg.

"You feel cold."

"I don't feel anything," she corrected, the sentence coming out more morbid than she had intended and his shoulder bumped against hers, turning to face him.

"What made you tell him?"

"His gift."

"What did he get you?"

"A memory from my past," Bonnie replied without a second thought, looking over Kai's waiting expression and gritted her teeth before continuing, "it was a framed photo of us from when we were together, looking back on that moment I just knew I didn't feel the same way anymore."

Even though Bonnie could tell he was trying to force himself not to smile, the light in Kai's eyes shined bright giving away what he was truly feeling and they seemed to illuminate absorbing each piece of information. She wasn't sure if she should feel more touched or annoyed over his actions, but during his second the latter seemed to be winning her over and looked away.

"At least he had the courtesy of disposing the gift before making his dramatic exit."

"You saw that?"

"Oh yeah, I was around," he responded, hearing the smile in his tone.

"Stop enjoying this so much."

"I can't help it, this means he may finally stop trying to hit on you and that's a pause to reflect on and enjoy the little things in my book."

"He was so upset," Bonnie said in a daze, seeing the heartbreak underneath the outburst before he walked away.

"Understandable, I'd be pretty pissed," Kai chuckled and looked over to his smirk as he was raising his shoulders. "Especially with an audience, you probably ruined his street cred."

Snorting out a sound of hilarity the term he used seemed to hit Bonnie's funny bone bubbling up her laughter. "Street cred?"

"Do people not use that expression anymore?" he asked through a wide grin and she shook her head, stifling her giggles. "Man, I loved that one."

"I'm sure you'll be picking up on all of the new lingo before the year's over."

"I do catch on to things quickly," he agreed, looking off to his right towards the entrance and back to her. "You know you still have a boatload of presents to open in there."

"Oh but the first one kicked it off with such a bang, I don't think I can outshine it."

"Then don't, lay low right under it and coast on by. Besides, you still want people to get the things you bought them, right?"

Scrunching her nose in aggravation that he was right Kai's teeth dazzled white putting his left hand out and she clasped it, using his sturdiness to lift onto her feet and brushed off her backside. Fully aware that she can't run away and sulk during their Christmas Eve party Bonnie pulled back her shoulders walking tall out of the archway and back into the house, deciding it was best to put on the mask of composure she's used so many times in the past when she didn't want anyone to know what was going on in her head.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked appearing beside her, "I saw what happened, do you want-"

"I'm fine," Bonnie cut her off, 'really. All I want to do now is give everyone their gifts."

"Well I can certainly make that happen," Elena stated and rounded up their little group having them all have a seat on the couches.

Going down the line Bonnie handed off something to Elena, Damon, Matt, and Tyler and felt her mood starting to lighten watching each of their reactions while they opened them. Sitting beside Elena Bonnie opened her gifts first, going for the bigger of the two and instantly loved what she was looking at. A thick brown leather-bound journal that looked big enough to be a book lay on her lap, the gold etching around the edges making the book look royal and vintage. The feature that she found the most appealing was the leather strap that came around sealing it closed with a three-digit password lock to prevent anyone else's entry.

"This looks amazing," Bonnie vocalized pulling Elena into a hug, "thank you."

"I thought maybe you'd like a safe place to store some of those thoughts away," she suggested leaning back and giving her a knowing grin, "I'm sure a lot has happened during all of the time we've spent apart."

"I'd say you are right about that," she smiled in agreement and Elena motioned for her to open the next one, curling back the wrapping paper around the small box and pulling back the cover to a necklace with a small silver moon tangling at the bottom.

"It's a friendship necklace; you have the moon, I'm wearing the star, and don't tell Care but she has a matching one with the sun."

Feeling her eyes get heavy Bonnie thought that she could cry over the thoughtfulness, signifying them all together even though they've had some recently severe bumps in the road.

"This is the best thing you could have gotten me," she said with complete sincerity, pulling her into another tight embrace before clasping the chain around her neck and it fell in just the right spot.

"Me next," Damon said dropping an average size square box on her left and looked him over skeptically, tearing the paper off the top half.

Pulling out the items inside Bonnie came across a can of pepper spray, butterfly knife, brass knuckles, a skull keychain with the mouth open to slide your middle finger through and a sharp point at the other end, a taser… and a whistle.

"Really?" Bonnie questioned holding up the whistle.

"You never know when that might come in handy."

"You should have thrown a handbook in there; _Self-defense for Dummies AKA Vampires and non-witches_ ," Kai said behind the couch leaning over her shoulder to scoop up the butterfly knife. "This is sweet, can I keep this? I haven't had one in almost twenty years."

Grabbing the knife out of his hands Bonnie placed everything back in the box and stood up, pulling Damon into a hug. "You are an idiot."

"Just in case your rusty witchy skills are running low one day," he responded and she shook her head, lip curving up as they separated and sat back down.

Everyone continued ripping open everything that had their names on it and Bonnie could feel the tension slipping to the back of her mind, the distress not as potent when she was surrounded by the festiveness. After the gifts had become new belongings the guests started to trickle out by the pair, taking the opportunity to follow the crowd and say her goodbyes to the few who were left before sliding into the passenger seat of Kai's Lamborghini. Closing her eyes briefly Bonnie yawned and dropped her head back on the seat, letting out a deep exhale before she felt a hand around hers.

"Bon, we're home."

Opening her eyelids with more force than she expected her eye-line trailed from Gram's house in front of her over to Kai. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, you look pooped," he grinned running his thumb over her knuckles before hopping out of the seat and by her side in a flash, helping her tired legs stand on their own and followed behind through the front door.

Staying hot on her heels Bonnie had made it almost all the way to her room before the tip of her boot got caught on something on the hardwood floor. Ankle teetering to the side she lost her balance and almost went crashing into the bureau but Kai's hand slid around her waist holding her upright. Gripping his forearm Bonnie blew out a steady breath getting a hold on her groggy mind and body and pivoted to face him.

"I need to shower."

"Now?"

"I didn't have time to before the party, and I was on a plane for over eight hours today."

"You're going to end up falling and cracking your head, unless… I go with you."

"I'll be two minutes," Bonnie rebutted avoiding his suggestion, "you won't even realize I'm gone."

"Doubtful, mainly because I know you'll be naked in the next room."

"All the more reason for you to stay fully clothed in here," she said with a double pat against his chest, leaning back and maneuvering around him into the bathroom before he could protest any farther.

Sliding off the dress and underwear Bonnie moved across the room through closed lids, turning the dial and waiting with her hand under the water before it was steamy enough to go into. Letting the water pour over her face she stretched her arms out resting them against the wall and hung her head so the hot raindrops hit the top of her skull. With no sense of how long she'd stayed in the same position she was just about to grab the body wash when the curtain pulled back on her left.

"I told you you'd end up passing out in here."

"Kai," she huffed moving her outstretched arm towards him in what seemed to be an attempt to stop him but he was already behind her, moving something around before a sudsy loofah was pressed between her shoulder blades moving it in a circular motion.

Humming at the contact Kai slid the sea sponge down her ribs and around her stomach, pulling her into him with his movements and feeling the spark of excitement in her belly. Spreading the suds on her stomach and over her breasts he pushed the loofah from her right shoulder down to her hand still resting against the wall and placed his hand over hers, his breath hot on her neck and hard shaft firmly pressed up against the top of her butt. Biting her lip to not let any sounds pass Bonnie felt like her mind was drifting away in its exhausted state, the lightheadedness giving her the foggy perception to not over-think the situation she was in and lulled her head back falling onto Kai.

Bringing the suds back up he switched hands doing the same thing to her other arm and pressed his palms flat against the back of her hands with the rope of the loofah across his palm. Curling his fingers into hers he pulled them to her stomach knocking her backside into him, gripping his hands tighter. Pressing his lips to her neck Kai stayed there a few seconds longer before slowly urging her to face him and did so without a fight, Bonnie's eyes still closed throughout all of this. Stepping towards the emitting of body heat she connected with his skin and nestled into him, her forearms lifting to press against his front side too having a sense of envelopment with his hands ghosting around her back washing it. Wishing she could stay in this bubble of half-conscious comfortable quietness she kept Kai's chest securely to hers, aside from the break he took to crouch down and wash her legs with a sensual touch. Thinking she might lose her battle of staying awake when her legs began to shake the water turned off almost in unison and before she knew it was wrapped up in a robe and back in her room.

Opening her eyes against the bright light she hit the switch and a sleepy grin spread seeing the colorful Christmas lights all around the perimeter on the ceiling illuminating her room with a dim glow. Not giving herself enough time to think through the pajamas Bonnie crossed the room and yanked back the covers, diving underneath with her bulky robe on. Hearing the floor creak Kai strolled in wearing the only type of boxers she's seen him sport and cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you only own one pair of boxers?"

"Would you not let me in your bed if I did?" he said in a serious tone and her dumbfounded overtired blank stare had him breaking character and chuckled sliding in beside her. "I own an _unlimited_ amount of boxers, like my own personnel underwear store. They're just all the same kind."

"I had high hopes, but it was a necessity to ask."

"And what about you?" Kai wondered walking his index and middle finger across her robe like two legs, "what kind of lingerie do you have going on under there?"

"Oh you know just a little something average, bland, and invisible."

Even in the dim light Bonnie could see the flecks of blue in his irises darken as his pupils dilated, the fingers dancing across the material pulling the knot loose and sliding them underneath. Drifting his warm hand across her stomach he nudged Bonnie forward to roll onto her side and his arm snaked around her back keeping her flush against him. Already getting hit with a feeling of heatstroke inside a heavy robe, underneath the blankets, and wrapped up in Kai's arms, Bonnie wiggled around pulling her arm out of the sleeve and sitting up to free the other one.

Going to lean back he bumped her hip over pushing her into his chest and brought his arms around squeezing her too tightly before loosening his grip. One leg stayed on the bed beside him while the other tangled around his and pushed her torso up bringing her face to the crook of his neck to be more comfortable running her palm across his collarbone. Kai's fingertips sizzled across her back, over her butt, and down her legs; the charge causing Bonnie to let out a small hummed moan curling into him farther.

"I love the feel of your skin; it's like velvet, so soft," he murmured continuing to roam over her body, "I'm starting to believe you don't have a single imperfection."

The inaccuracy behind that statement brought a bout of laughter up her throat spilling out at the preposterousness, the vibrations from her chest against his causing it to move as well. "I'm full of flaws."

"Well I'll be sure to point one out to you when I come across it," Kai said off the shoulder and the casualness and sincerity in his tone had her insides twisting and turning as if it was being wrung-out like a sponge.

Suddenly abashed and self-conscious Bonnie nuzzled her face higher into the crook shielding her face and he ran his hand up tickling at the base of her neck forcing out an overdrawn exhale, feeling her muscles unknotting along with it. Closing her eyes Bonnie began fading out instantaneously; Kai's muffled voice sounding off into the distance before the darkness pulled her under.


	25. Chapter 25

Pungent scents wafted through Bonnie's nose awakening her senses before she was fully conscious, letting out a sound of hunger and rolled to the side, breathing in the warmth of cinnamon. Lifting her head off the pillow a tray sat on the bed near the edge with a plate of French toast drizzled in syrup, confectionary sugar, and topped with strawberries and blueberries, a bowl with half of a grapefruit inside, and utensils on it. Sitting up straight Bonnie's jaw involuntarily dropped open, completely surrounded by trays all with different breakfast meals displayed. Going from one side of her to the other she scanned over everything, most covered in fruits seeing a Belgian waffle, yogurt and granola, mini sausage and bacon, dropped eggs on toast, and croissants all within reach. Bringing her hand up to her mouth Bonnie glanced up at the same moment Kai was walking into the room in boxers and a gray wife-beater with yet another tray in hand, perking up when he saw her.

"Well finally, I had this idea that you would wake up when I brought in the first plate and could eat them like a luxurious 7-course meal but that didn't seem to go as planned."

Placing his tray on her lap she smiled at the single pink flower in a little glass jar and looked over the plate of cut up strawberries, orange slices, and tiny pancakes with a bowl of syrup beside it.

"What…"

"Orange juice and milk are right here," he said gesturing to the bedside table next to him and pointed to the other, "coffee's over there."

"Kai, why did you do all of this?"

"Uh, it's Christmas," Kai stated as if it was obvious, "and I owed you for yesterday."

"You really didn't," she uttered looking over all of the options and stayed momentarily frozen, her hands plastered to the bed as he moved around her and eased in beside her.

"Don't tell me you aren't hungry," he said with an edge of uncertainty putting a crack in her rigid frame and glanced over at him smiling.

"I'm always up for eating."

"Well then dig in!"

"I need a shirt first, I'm kind of…"

"I know," he said knowingly, looking down to enjoy the view.

"Can you find me something?"

Sitting there for another fifteen seconds Bonnie was contemplating getting up when Kai leaned forward stretching towards the chair in the corner of the room and scooped up the gray t-shirt that he threw on after a shower the other day, swinging it over her head and through her arms swiftly.

"Thank you," she said feeling three times more comfortable and picked up her fork. "Aren't you going to have anything?"

"Sure."

"Okay so pick one."

"Which one don't you want?"

"I don't know, it doesn't matter," Bonnie shrugged and looked over each dish looking like they were professionally done. "I'll just take a bite out of whatever you're having if I get the urge."

Snickering in response Kai leaned forward grabbing the tray with the mini sausages, bacon, a cup of syrup, and a croissant sticking it on his lap. After popping some of the cut-up strawberries in her mouth along with a few tiny pancakes Bonnie moved onto the meal she's had her eye on from the beginning and switched trays with the Belgian waffle. Blueberries and strawberries were scattered on top along with a red glaze and a dollop of whipped cream was swirled around the middle. Not thinking twice Bonnie dove in savoring every delectable bite thinking this may be her new favorite breakfast food and finished almost the entire thing without even realizing. Swiping the champagne glass of orange juice she finished it too quickly, the cool liquid making her feel less full as it went down.

"How was it?"

"You should really consider getting into the food business, maybe opening up a little shop somewhere; you'd get by just fine."

"I do anyway."

"I know but this money you would actually deserve because you'd be working to earn it."

"It takes some _effort_ to magically make money grow on trees, wouldn't you say?" Kai said with a tilt of his head and she stared back surely looking as puzzled as she felt. "You should check out the backyard sometime."

"You're kidding."

"There's an illusory spell on it so people perceive it to be any other tree but if you pick the leaves there is a high chance they'll turn into twenty dollar bills. It seemed less suspicious than a wallet full of hundreds, I don't want anyone getting the idea I'm doing illegal things."

"So, calling you out on what's actually going on?"

"Yeah but they'll think I'm some drug dealer. I would hand over the wad of cash willingly if they correctly guessed that I fund myself through supernatural means."

"A money tree, right outside of my own home," Bonnie concluded laughing at the information, " _that_ I might have to test out."

"It's a real time-saver," he nodded moving onto one of the pieces of toast with a poached egg on top and cut it into pieces, looking over and taking in her expression.

"Have you ever had this?"

"Can't say that I have." Holding up the fork with a piece already on the end Bonnie leaned into him dragging her lips across the metal and her taste buds came to life with a buttery crunch on top of the strong flavor of yolk. "That's deceivingly tasty."

Grinning Kai moved his plate closer pushing the untouched piece towards her but her utensil went past it back to the already cut pieces choosing the easier route. Eating until she felt like she couldn't move Bonnie moaned and leaned back holding her stomach.

"Food coma?"

"Call an ambulance," she let out in an exaggerated and over the top whiny voice.

"On Christmas? It'll take them hours to find their way here."

The reminder of what day it was had Bonnie shimmying around in place, the start of it already better than she could have anticipated. "So happy it's today."

"Me too," Kai grinned, "so… want to open your gift?"

"Kind of," she let out honestly through a cheerful smile, the light in his eyes shining even more, "you really didn't have to get me anything though."

"I don't _have_ to do anything, that's the best part about being me," he boasted and Bonnie's eyes rolled back, pulling the covers off and placing the tray beside her so she could stand and headed for the living room.

Plucking the present she bought from under the tree she hid it behind her back and sat on the couch sideways with one leg against the cushions, waiting for him to do the same on her left and he held out a small square box.

"You first."

Insides flopping at the de ja vu she was putting herself through again Bonnie took the box out of his hand and trained her eyes down pulling back the wrapping paper and avoiding his gaze. Seeing the name of the jewelry store they were in before the Masquerade written across the cover struck her causing her breath to come out shallow, taking it off and letting out a noise of surprise. In her hands was the same bracelet she was ogling over, the elegant white-gold box chain connected through seven circle diamonds with an Eiffel Tower dangling below the clasp. Lifting it out of the box Bonnie's mouth was straining from how wide she was smiling and looked up to Kai watching her.

"How did you know?"

"I saw you eyeing it," he remarked and her chest warmed seeing how closely Kai paid attention, asking if he could help her put it on and held her left forearm up looking at the Tower dangling from her wrist.

"This is so thoughtful, Kai," she said absorbing the dazzle of the diamonds and pulled him in for a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Kai hummed against her neck, leaning back feeling abruptly nervous.

Blowing out a shaky breath Bonnie reached behind her pulling out the wrapped ring box and tossed it in his lap, too jittery to hand it to him. Picking it up with his left hand Kai twisted the box examining in with a blank expression before pursing his lips and looking back to her.

"What?" she said anxiously and he grabbed something behind him with his other hand, bringing forward an identical box and looking over them both before holding one out for her to take. "You got me something else?"

"And I think you got me something very similar," he concluded tossing the box in the air and catching it, his wolfish grin spreading, "there's a comment I could make, but I'll wait until after just to be sure."

Not wanting his full attention on her again they opened their gifts at the same time, pausing to flip the top seeing Kai do it to his. The smile that spread across his features lit up his face, the rupture of delight radiating off of him seeming too contagious to ignore.

"I don't know which design that is, I told the little French woman _Celtic_ which she seemed to understand," Bonnie explained looking at the metallic-black thumb ring with a silver chained Celtic knot crossing through the middle, "and then I pointed you out to say who I was getting it for and this was one of the options. But the best part – it spins."

Mouth popping open Kai pulled the ring out of the box putting it on his left thumb – breathing out a sigh of relief that it fit him – and ran his index finger over it twirling it repeatedly. "No way, that is so cool."

"Yeah?" Bonnie pepped seeing the amazement in his eyes watching it spin and slowed it down to a stop, examining it closer. "I figured you were all set with the necklace, and you ditched most of your bracelets besides the black beads and a couple bands but you didn't start wearing rings until we came here so I took that as meaning it's your current fixation."

"Awh look at you noticing things about me too," he beamed, "that's encouraging. So you don't know which knot this is?"

"No."

"But the woman knew you were getting it for me," he repeated and she drew down her brows in question, "that's pretty funny."

"Why?"

Rocking his head from side to side like he was debating if he was going to tell her, the laughter puffed out of his lips and locked eyes with her. "It's a sailor's knot."

"Okay, what does that mean?"

"See how it's two different ropes weaving and connecting making knots? That's supposed to represent two people and the strong bond they share, uniting them into one. It can symbolize friendship, or affection… or more, usually more. The name originated from the sailor's who were away from their sweethearts overseas."

"Oh… my…" Bonnie uttered, the more Kai spoke the harder it became to breathe. Seeing flashes of the woman on the other side of the counter speaking rapidly she was able to pick out fragments every so often like ' _amour'_ and _'celtique,'_ but had no indication whatsoever of the hidden intimate significance behind the knotted design. Feeling her heart pound fast enough to ponder if he could hear it Bonnie's mouth was so dry she couldn't swallow the lump stuck in her throat, running her sweaty palms down her bare thighs. "I guess that's a much bigger statement than the runner-up _I love Paris_ shirt I came across."

"Only if you mean it," Kai declared with a coquettish grin, "also it's a little eerie what similar tastes we have."

Dropping her sight to her lap Bonnie flipped the cover and brought the ring box up to her face slowly, the grin appearing the closer it got. The first thing that drew her in was the dark red oval stone in the center, two tiny diamonds on the top and bottom as well as two more in the shape of a sideways V around the points. The silver band was looped together with a simple knot that looks like the exact design she used to make with jelly bracelets, entwining one inside the other and pulling at the ends looking similar to a double-knotted infinity symbol. The knots on the ring were still loosely linked and the red stone sat securely tucked in-between them. Looking up with what she expected was an expression of jubilation Bonnie drew in her bottom lip in an attempt to tame her Cheshire cat smile.

"You got me something Celtic?"

"It seemed only right; I know how fond you are of my necklace."

"Which kind is it?" Bonnie asked taking it out of the box and testing it out, finding a home on her right middle finger.

"Funny story," Kai began, his fingertip spinning the ring absentmindedly and eye-line trailed down to it, smirking. "It's a sailor's knot."

Shooting back down to her finger Bonnie examined the knot with scrutiny, scrunching her eyebrows when she wasn't seeing the similarities from this design to the one on Kai's. "But they're nothing alike."

"They're both two intertwined ropes; yours is the simplest version, which also happens to be the strongest."

Perking her head up and raising her hand looking over the _most powerful knot_ _of its kind_ Bonnie tried not to let the fluttering in her stomach or lightheadedness over the details she just digested about this Celtic pattern gain power over her, but the beating inside her ribcage was becoming insufferable.

"Is this a ruby?"

"Red garnet; I thought if you were going to _embody_ Miss Scarlet you should have a token to wear as a reminder of the seductive temptress you have inside begging to come out. You're like a modern day _femme fatale_."

"Mm and how would you characterize them as?"

"Dangerous," Kai stated in a low tone, drifting his fingers lightly up her outstretched leg, "and addicting."

"I've been called worse," Bonnie said in a small voice watching his hand dance across her skin, drawing her in.

"Oh have you? I guess I'll have to make a couple visits to people in the near future; I know one leather-wearing vampire that'll be at the top of the list."

"Let's not undersell it, you and I both know Damon's in the top three of just about every one of your lists."

"He does seem to have a knack for finding unexpected ways into my life; there's been a lot of that going around."

"One of the drawbacks of being a former prisoner getting accustomed to the twenty-first century," she teased.

"Prisoner of war," Kai corrected, the term not one Bonnie's familiar with and studied his shift in manner; his gaze distant like he was in a memory before blinking and looking back at her with clear eyes. "But I appreciate the _former_ part."

Bonnie was still looking at him like she was scrutinizing – eyebrows drawn, head cocked to the side – and he stared back in question. "Is there a difference between the two?"

"There is," Kai responded simply, mindful to the fact that he knows the distinction and is choosing not to say it.

"Is that a term that still describes you?" Bonnie asked with a hint of hesitation, the sincerity in his eyes easing the knot inside in her stomach.

"No, and you may or may not have had a hand in helping me out of that one."

"Oh really?" she thrummed lifting her foot and tickling at his ribs with her toes, Kai leaning up towards her as his left hand ran up Bonnie's side and the right gripped the top of the cushion.

"Mhm."

"So essentially you were the damsel in distress and _I_ came to the rescue," Bonnie concluded, mimicking in a deep voice, "Mr. _I-can-do-everything-on-my-own."_

"I can," Kai protested with a bright smile as he moved slowly like he was stalking his prey, "doesn't mean I want to."

Bonnie had her lower back pressed up against the armrest as he rose on his knees to tower over her, her mouth opening to accommodate her shallow breaths. Bending her knees into Kai's thighs she pushed off the cushion sending him back to sit up and threw her leg over his straddling him, sinking into the couch and involuntarily grinding against him. Not wearing anything under his shirt Bonnie slid over the thin boxer-briefs feeling Kai shiver underneath her, the only material of clothing being yanked over her head before she could register.

Exposed and self-conscious being naked while Kai's fully clothed her hands made their way under his wife-beater pushing it up with the momentum and leaned into her for assistance, slamming him back into the couch with her chest and wrapping her left hand around his neck. Bonnie could feel him getting harder every time she rocked into him dropping her forehead to his and Kai reached between them pinching and twisting at her nipples sending shocks down her spine. Forcing out an exhale she looked deep into pupils that were dilating quicker by the second, wondering if Kai could see the green disappearing in hers during all of the times he refused to break eye contact.

"Kai, I can't-"

"In the house – I know, and it pains me. So I guess that means _you_ won't be performing any sexual acts, I'll do all of the work."

Opening her mouth to speak a moan spilled out as the shocks of pleasure started up again, Kai's lips encasing her breast and biting with just enough pressure to clench around him throwing a hand out to balance herself on the back of the couch. Warmth from Bonnie's core spread to her toes, fingers, and head, swaying from the transition and rammed into him; the grunt escaping from the back of his throat enticing her farther. Fisting his hair and angling his head up the rest of her body seemed to relax into him the moment Kai's soft lips brushed against hers. The tenderness he manages to put into his kissing still leaves her breathless, the sweet nuzzles a contrast and perceptive distraction from his hand sliding between them into her folds and driving two fingers in deeply where Bonnie ached for him.

A noise tore through her composure against Kai's lips and broke apart resting her nose against his cheek slack-jawed, hips churning into his touch. Bonnie glided up and down his hand rubbing against his palm and picked up the pace, the friction kicking her pulse into her throat and pulled both arms around him letting her actions take over. Holding the side of her neck Kai eased his fingers back and propelled them forward pushing his thumb ring against her sensitive skin and legs began to shake at the contact, the second time causing Bonnie to scratch her nails over the front of his chest in a knee-jerk reaction and he let out a sharp noise through his teeth. Leaning back her gaze dropped to the three lines down one of his pecks, none of them drawing blood but all blatantly visible.

"Sorry," Bonnie sighed and let out a strangled screech when Kai twisted his wrist sliding into her and moved his thumb ring over her clit, jerking and quivering around him riding out the orgasm as his hand on her neck kept her anchored to him.

"It's okay," he smirked two octaves lower and the rumbling against her chest sounded like a rasp of temptation, her thighs still vibrating with aftershocks. Flipping her sideways Bonnie's back hit the cushion before the weight of another person pressed down on her, puffing out a shallow noise feeling dizzy from how fast her heart was racing. Linking his fingers through hers Kai rested them beside her head on the right looking them over. "So what does it say about us that we both got the other a ring?"

"That we have similar tastes and spend too much time together," Bonnie tried reasoning, more with herself than him.

"Just a crazy coincidence?" he looked her over awaiting her response.

"Guess so," she got out, her throat feeling too tight.

Turning his head to peer at her out of the corner of his eye Kai gripped her hand and made his way leisurely down her torso, kissing and nibbling as he went. Trailing her eyes from his face to their hands Bonnie lifted them seeing the flashes of the diamond on her ring and the white pattern across his black spinner feeling a twinge in her chest looking at the two of them in their clasped embrace. Tossing her right leg over his shoulder Kai picked up her lower half resting his palm against her left cheek angling her towards his face. The light sensation of the tip of his tongue gliding from the top all the way back to her butt had Bonnie jolting into him, squeezing his hand into the plush material beside her as the other roamed aimlessly. Every little nudge and spasm had her grinding into him unable to escape his firm grasp on her and Kai's rough facial hair against her most tender area has become one of her weaknesses, the mixture between the scratching and sucking burning a hole in her belly until it erupted out of her like a volcano; unexpected and all at once.

Panting out every harsh breath Bonnie was vaguely aware of a sizzling going up her stomach and reached for Kai's hair, pulling until his lips were going up her neck and over her cheek. Even after what he just put her through – _especially_ after that – Bonnie felt desperate for him, the relentless and overwhelming need of wanting more only amplifying each time she's with him. Slipping her hand out of his and into his boxers a jagged noise rumbled in his chest and gripped him with force pulling up to the tip extra slowly, every vein passing underneath her fingers reveal how stiff he is. Yanking at Kai's hips she freed him enough to slide her hand across him easily and her breath hitched when he fell against her hot and heavy, the underside moving through bringing the acute throbbing low in her abdomen.

" _Bon_ ," he stated through clenched teeth, the lust in his voice indicating what he's thinking.

"No."

"I hate this rule," Kai huffed, snorting at his temper tantrum and stopped when his fingers slid around her wrist halting her movements, trying again with more determination and glared when he removed her hand putting his boxers back in place.

"What are you doing?"

"If I don't get the satisfaction of having you completely then you don't get any of me; I'm going to make you want me too."

"I do," Bonnie declared grabbing the back of his head and curling her legs behind his.

"I know," he said with a wicked grin and seconds later was standing beside her taking a step backwards, peering down to his legs as he eased out of the living room and started off down the hall.

Hopping to her feet Bonnie listened for which way he went and made a bee-line for the bathroom when the showerhead turned on. Pushing past the butterflies she strode across the tiles and pulled back the curtain, Kai's eyebrows lifting before his smile and shook his head.

"We weren't finished."

"Bad move," he vocalized, biting his bottom lip as an indication and reached for her getting halfway there before pulling back.

Battling between wanting to bring Kai to his knees and listening to his warning Bonnie's stubbornness won over and put one foot over the tub, her back being pressed against one of the walls before she could put down the other. His lips and face were already warming up from the steam and trailed kisses all over, nestling into the side of his neck. Curving around her Kai's bulking frame shielded her from the water and grabbed hold of him with both hands, the corner of her mouth lifting hearing the guttural sound against her lips. Not wanting to draw out her game plan Bonnie skipped over the caresses down his chest and went right for the kill, crouching down to draw him into her mouth when his hands propelled her back up.

"You don't want me to?" Bonnie asked in an innocent tone, running her nails over him.

"Right now that's _all_ I want you to do," Kai remarked darkly, "I'm really getting the shit end of the stick over this, but I got to stick with it; principles."

"Which are?"

"I don't know, I can't think with your hands all over me but it made sense five minutes ago."

"A lot can change in that span of time; think of what could happen in the _next_ five minutes."

Lifting Bonnie up by her inner knees she grabbed onto his neck to keep from falling and sighed when the familiarity pressed into her pelvis moving just subtle enough to ignite a spark. She had it in her head that she needed to be the one to win this round to hold her ground, not let her physical needs take over every ounce of her, and prove Kai wrong so she could throw it back at him one day. Wrapping her fingers around the part of his shaft that was still visible Bonnie took advantage of him having to hold her up and did quick deliberate pumps feeling his stomach muscles clenching and posture turning rigid, a rush of fulfillment overcoming her that Kai was barely keeping it together and she hadn't even had the opportunity to do anything to him yet.

"You're trying to prove your theory by making it happen," he deduced and Bonnie squeezed him tighter.

"I wonder where I picked that up from."

"I think the stone in your ring may have connected with your sorcery just a tad too well, Scarlet."

"I think you may be correct," Bonnie agreed, not untrue that she is feeling uncharacteristically bold in their game of cat-and-mouse.

"But it's not like I left you high and dry, I made sure I took care of you first so you'd only be getting satisfied again in one of our scenarios."

"That's where you're wrong, _Colonel_." she whispered bringing her face closer to Kai's and rolled into him rubbing her thumb around his sensitive head, the gentle caressing against the tip making him come undone.

Thrusting her up the wall Bonnie clenched around him craving the real thing and her skin charged to life listening to the husky and sensual sounds spilling from Kai's throat, his heart pounding so fast she could feel it inside her chest. Letting go of her knees she pulled them around his hips not wanting to disconnect yet and he seemed to have the same idea, encasing his arms around her back in a bear hug. Pressing his lips to hers a smile crept across Bonnie's face, the fast puffs out of his nose showing he was straining to catch his breath and ran both arms behind his neck.

"You cheated," Kai muttered after another minute or two.

"I didn't realize I _could_."

"You started saying things, and made things twice as difficult, and switched up my whole game plan."

"Oh now you know how it feels being on the other side of it," Bonnie beamed, a mock-scowl crossing his features. "You better get used to things not going according to plan when I'm around."

"I think it's safe to say I've come to expect that, you've been throwing curveballs since the day you threatened to set me on fire."

"I like keeping you on edge," she purred and Kai's arms tightened nudging his nose against hers.

"Likewise."

xx

As far as holidays were concerned this has become one of Bonnie's absolute favorites, and the day wasn't even over yet. From starting out with breakfast in bed – something no one has ever done for her before, to getting not only one but two sentimental gifts, and displaying a fraction of her gratitude all before lunchtime. Not anticipating having to leave the house Bonnie went for comfort dressing in an oversized long-sleeve red shirt falling off of her shoulders and fuzzy white pajama shorts, her temperature rising seeing Kai strut around in the same wife-beater, black sweatpants, and a matching slouchy beanie hanging loosely at the end.

"I like you in hats," she said sincerely, flashing back to the fedora and noticing both exude an alternate persona of his.

"I like you half dressed," Kai retorted bending down enough to scratch his nails on her outer thigh, shivers breaking out across her skin. "So what do you want to do first?"

"What do you mean?"

"Which part of that question has you stumped?" he replied without missing a beat, her eyebrow lifting.

"I guess the ' _first_ ' part, I wasn't aware I had options lined up already."

"Oh yeah; there's watching the best Christmas movies, baking treats, building Gingerbread Kingdoms, decorating ugly sweaters, we could cast a snowstorm spell, or make presents magically appear… to name a few. What do you usually do today?"

"Not much, at least not for the last couple of years. We have the Christmas Eve party so that's the big event and everyone spends today with their families."

"What do you do?" he murmured close to her face and the question made her stomach hurt, gritting her teeth to fight the vulnerable tears threatening to well up.

"This is where I spent every holiday until Gram's passed, so I come here," Bonnie uttered looking away, telling herself to keep it together and change the subject, "at least until I crash Elena or Caroline's plans, sometimes both. But look at who I'm talking to, you've gone through too many Christmas' alone to count."

"Seventeen – but who's keeping track?" Kai joked and ran his palms down her sleeves. "But this one seems promising; maybe our string of bad luck is finally broken."

"Here's hoping," she said mustering up her best smile and he snorted at her attempt, his index finger lifting her chin and kissing her lightly.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" he asked feeling the heat of his breath against her lips and leaned in slightly in a daze, Bonnie's mind and body only coming up with one answer.

"Surprise me."

Flashing his teeth Kai slid his fingers between hers moving out of the way so she could walk first and held both hands in the air swaying hers around, "snowstorm it is!"

"Okay maybe not that drastic," Bonnie expressed through her laughter and heard him sigh dramatically.

"Alright fine; a Gingerbread Kingdom now, and a battle of snowballs later."

The next hour went by in the blink of an eye; not remembering the last time she laughed so much taking part in something normal that she always used to do when she was a kid and the sounds of Christmas tunes were lulling her deeper into the spirit, singing along with them as they worked. Kai's childlike wonder and easily excitable mindset was contagious and soon Bonnie was trapped in his invisible force-field using her magic to assist in their competition of who could build the better house, which turned into two castles.

"I don't know what you're talking about, _Bennett-topia_ is clearly the winner – I have a drawbridge."

" _Malachai-ville_ has a dragon," Kai remarked pointing to a gingerbread creature hanging off one of the sides, "and just the name of it sounds sinister; yours sounds like a carnival."

"You're talking to the Queen and ruler of that carnival-castle."

"And you're up against a King."

"Doesn't nearly seem like a fair battle for you, does it?" she asked in a pitying tone watching his eyes dazzle with mischief.

"Well I don't know, you'll have to check with my best soldier," Kai remarked waving his hand and one of his decorated gingerbread men dressed as Santa Clause stood up and turned facing her direction in a standoff.

"…You want me to take out Santa on Christmas?"

"If you think you can," he goaded instigating her and Bonnie waved a hand over her decorated gingerbreads, Mrs. Clause rising to face him, "got to love the classics."

Before giving him any more time to act Bonnie levitated a small piece of rolled up dough, launching it in his direction and cracking up when it went through Santa's head breaking it off. "You're right, I do."

"Murdering Santa on the day he's just trying to give presents and spread joy to children around the world; wow."

"I'm sure Mrs. Clause won't have any troubles picking up his slack in _Bennett-topia,_ " Bonnie responded simply, picking up the decapitated head and eating it.

"And you say I'm the dark one. Okay you won the first round, there _will_ be more competitions."

"Bring it on," she winked, her peaceful state of mind mixing with her competitiveness bringing out a fun and silly side of her, squealing when Kai pivoted her chair to face him.

"Bake off."

"Oh come on," she groaned lulling her head back, "you and me both know who is going to win that."

"I thought you said before you didn't mind baking?"

"I said I was _more terrible at dinners than_ desserts, that's a stretch from not minding it."

"You can break out your touch of magic while I go off my culinary skills, I'm sure I still have you beat."

Intrigue increasing from his remark Bonnie hopped off her seat and crossed the kitchen over to the fridge, brainstorming something she could make. Kai's front crowded into her reaching around her for items and placed them on the counter looking like he already had a plan.

"Don't get too fancy."

"Sure thing," he said over his shoulder looking in the cabinets and pulling out a box and glass bowls before cracking a few eggs.

Not wanting to completely rely on her powers she looked through her surroundings and pulled out a vanilla cake mix, going with it before losing her courage and looked around for all of the correct ingredients. Using an ice cream scooper Bonnie plopped out dollops into cupcake holders in the pan and filled them up, practically glowing with pride that she got this far on her own. Turning to Kai opening the stove to stick in his batch of brownies she stuck her tray on the rack above his and stood by watching him hold his palm in front of the closed stove door, mumbling something under his breath and seeing the oven blaze with heat before opening it back up and taking out both pans fully cooked.

"Convenient," Bonnie nodded poking one of the cupcakes, "I should keep that spell in mind, it's probably the only way I won't burn things."

"I'll teach you," Kai promised and covered his mouth with his hands like he was warming them up before blowing through the opening near his pinkies across both pans cooling them.

Curious, Bonnie pressed her lips to his and let out a soft sound of delight feeling that they were still chilled, his cool hands shaking her frame when they ran up her back underneath her shirt. The tingling deep in her core sizzled, wanting to rise up and take control over her every inaction; twisting and turning painfully when he pulled away and kissed her nose before continuing his dessert. Gripping the counter behind her Bonnie breathed in and out slowly, Kai's rugged sounds of pleasure from earlier spilling through her subconscious feeding the fiend within.

Glancing left she examined Kai's movements as he placed a brownie into a martini glass, followed by a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, sprinkles, and breaking a candy cane in half to stick on the sides. Day dreaming as he did the final touches Bonnie remembered she hadn't finished hers and plucked one of the cupcakes out of the pan putting it on a plate and waving her hand over it, the green frosting twirling up like a Christmas tree and decorated with big round sprinkles for ornaments with a little star on top.

"I need to profit off of these benefits, not just using my skills to save someone from a near-death experience."

"Now that I have magic I don't know how I went about doing half of the tasks in my life without it, I've been missing out."

"I apparently have too. So how do we pick the winner?"

"We judge them off their visuals and a taste test."

Sitting them beside each other Bonnie crouched down investigating each dessert in front of her, Kai making all the necessary ' _hmm's_ ' like they do in cooking shows and reached behind him handing off a spoon. Swiping the cupcake up and pulling back the paper a loud grumbled noise of hunger sounded from the back of his throat, giggling at the green icing smeared across his nose, lip, and facial hair in between. Leaning back for a dishtowel Bonnie whipped it at his chest, Kai's smile widening when he caught it and dabbed at little spots on his face asking if we got it all until she did it for him. Lifting up the other half of the cupcake she took a big bite wanting to know how it was and looked up to him with wide eyes, him nodding in agreement that it wasn't undercooked and disgusting like so many times Bonnie's attempted before. Wiping the side of her lip Kai stuck the tip of his thumb covered in icing in his mouth and put down the remnants, going for the martini glass.

Digging her spoon straight through the middle a heaping of ice cream, fudge, whipped cream, and brownie all spilled off the sides and had to lean over the glass to keep it from getting all over her shirt. The moan of delectableness turned bitter halfway through knowing she lost by a landslide before Kai had even taken a bite. Snickering at her reaction Kai grabbed her spoon taking a bite and raised his shoulders blasé like it wasn't one of the best desserts he's made, stealing the spoon and glass out of his hands to finish it.

"Okay so we're tied 1 – 1; what's next?"

"I won?" he asked looking wholeheartedly touched and pumped his arm in victory, "sweet, then we can take a break and watch a movie – or have a quote off and trivia fest during it, whatever we decide."

Brightening at the simple yet sublime string of ideas that Kai has at the ready she headed towards the living room continuing to eat the brownie sundae and plopped on the couch, grabbing a big blanket on the way and throwing it over her bare legs. Popping in a DVD and turning off the music he sat at the other end pulling both Bonnie and the blanket towards him until her left side was pressed up against his and legs were curled up beside her. Making a reference of ' _I should have known'_ when _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ began Bonnie was taken aback at the comfortable silence they could share with each other, their side comments and quoting lines seeming all too casual.

They had made it halfway through the movie before Bonnie's lust started up again, hitting her so hard she felt off balance becoming aware of their close proximity and what little she would need to do to reel him in. Pressing into the cushion her feet swiveled from where they sat to between Kai's thighs under the blanket, the adjustment causing her posture to straighten and looked up to a dark gaze trained on her. Opening her mouth to let out the exhale that was stuck Bonnie ran her shaking hand from pent-up nerves up his tank top stopping when she felt his heartbeat. Kai's pupils trailed all over her face and she sucked in her bottom lip feeling his arm tense around her back gliding his other hand up her leg from the ankle to the hem of her shorts.

"What'cha doin'?"

"Nothing."

"No? Because it _looks like_ you're doing something that could only lead to so few possibilities."

"I'm just getting more comfy."

"Mhm," Kai hummed, "sure."

The hooting and hollering from the people of _Whoville_ drew his attention to the screen, continuing to look over his profile without the distraction of his gaze. Since the moment Kai asked her to go on a romantic getaway to Paris Bonnie has felt like she's been drifting along in the clouds; no _monster-of-the-day_ troubles or animosity between them to rile up her state of blissfulness. The last few days have been something she didn't think she would ever be able to experience again, seeing extravagant places – creating _new_ memories, and for the first time since Bonnie couldn't even remember when was granted a short time of serenity from the chaos that surrounds her life each and every day.

Not long ago Kai was a vile arrogant kid that she loathed, vocally and physically expressing her detest through a variety of creative ways. Bonnie never could have imagined she would be able to let go of that fear and hostility harbored during the brief period of discovering her and Damon weren't alone to him being shipped back to present day without her, leaving her trapped in an alternate dimension with a sociopath. The walls that were previously standing due to the heartbreak she endured had upgraded upon meeting Kai; a sealed fortress with armed guards and alligators in the moat surrounding the perimeter still not enough to stop his incessant persistence and after months of perseverance has caused a single crack in the barrier, the foundation crumbling around her faster than Bonnie can fight it off.

The person sitting beside her today has changed and grown from who she met during her eternal Groundhog Day, coming to realize this long before the transformation he underwent because of the merge but her strong-willed mind refused to believe it. In some way unbeknownst to her Kai's tenacity managed to break through her barricade, reaching inside in search of her heart; the only part of her that she has left caged and hidden. Bonnie has learned to think, see, and believe in a way she never has before because of him and the things she's discovered about herself and the new outlook has equally astonished and appalled her, sometimes not being able to differentiate between the two.

Being around Kai used to instill her with an unwavering sense of urgency and dread; always seeking out the next escape route and scheme to be rid of him for good, until the day she realized she needed him. Once the nightmares began Bonnie fell into a dark hole of isolation, the lack of contact with human life plucking at her deepest terrors when she was asleep and at her most vulnerable until she was forced to reach out and save herself from hitting bottom. When she felt at one of the lowest points in her existence – questioning what was left for her in an unchanging and everlasting Hell – Kai pulled her out of the depths back into the light helping her remember that her world can still change, even if the one she was temporarily imprisoned in couldn't.

Letting herself feel his presence and what it does to her caused the wrath that had Bonnie contemplating homicide once or twice to flee; the uneasiness and anxiety morphing and adapting to her new perspective, seeping until the chill was deep in her bones. The same issue seemed to arise every time she thought for too long about what Kai really means to her, and how exactly he fits in her life because as of now she has two or three very diverse versions and doesn't know which to truly believe. Sighing out heavily Bonnie's vision came back into focus – staring directly into Kai's eyes. Widening hers she blinked quickly to wipe the haze away and jerked her head back, her nerves heightening at being caught.

"Where did you just go?"

"I'm right here."

"You went somewhere, you had this look like you were deep in thought but your eyes were crystal clear," he said without a hint of sarcasm, scanning her face with attentiveness. "What were you thinking about?"

"You – us," Bonnie laughed softly at the absurdity of both her thoughts and that she was opening up and expressing them. "How things are now compared to when we met, or when Damon left. Nothing turned out how I expected – none of it, and that doesn't happen to me very often."

"Being taken by surprise?"

"And being wrong about what I believe, I'm usually pretty spot on with that."

Kai's head tilted, the corners of his lips just barely turning up, "are you saying you were wrong about me?"

"I may have jumped to certain judgments without giving you a fair chance, without getting to know _you_ and just listening to the things you've done. What you did was terrible, but it doesn't make you who you are – neither does the things your dad put you through."

It never fails to put a smile on her face catching Kai off guard, the occasions so rare since he's fluent in knowing people's actions and how most situations will turn out. The better they've gotten to know each other the more Bonnie has seen the same wide-eyed expression unwinding something within her and drawing her in even closer. The longer the silence stretched out the stronger her other senses became, Kai's heartbeat against her palm pounding as he observed her and a flush of heat blanketed her skin breaking out in goosebumps. A tremor from the sudden change in body heat caused Bonnie to shake and felt his arms curl around her leaning forward for a kiss and stopping when their noses touched, instinctively closing the distance to him.

Kai's heart started to thud faster when her tongue slid across his bottom lip and leaned her knees into his stomach fisting the shirt and pulling until he followed. Crawling backwards with him towering over her Bonnie sunk into the cushions and sighed when his weight lied on top of hers, lifting her legs to give him more room and slid them up his thighs. The first thing that stood out was Kai's lack of incentive to take off hers – or his own – clothing, running his hand down her long sleeves unfazed and making her twice as hot. In truth the entire aura he was giving off was laid back and casual; his lips wandering across her cheeks, jaw, neck, and what limited bare chest he had to work with from her sleeves coming off of her shoulders. The easygoing attitude he was exuding quickly rubbed off on her and found herself savoring this moment; not rushing towards anything or thinking about what happens next, just enjoying what is in front of her. Time managed to slip away, only seeming like a few minutes had passed when the noise from the television started ringing in her ears replaying the home screen music on a loop.

"We missed the movie," Bonnie muttered against his lips.

"I know how it ends," he grumbled back.

"Put on something else," she ordered and he let out a sound of protest.

"Then I'd have to get up."

"I'll be right here when you get back."

Glaring through barely opened lids Kai huffed and puffed as he moved across the living room to the TV and picked up a case switching out the DVDs. The brief silence widened Bonnie's hearing to the chiming coming from down the hall, just realizing she never wished anyone a Merry Christmas and bolted off the couch into her room. Cursing under her breath at all of the missed calls and texts she took a couple of minutes replying to everyone and letting them know she was safe and at Gram's house, doing a double take at the time seeing it was already after 7PM. Heading back for the living room she rounded the corner to Kai still standing in the same spot, arms crossed.

"You are such a liar."

"No I'm not," she said defensively, "about what?"

"Oh just a little ' _I'll be right here waiting_ ' and then BAM the second my back is turned," he tsk'd and Bonnie's lip curved seeing the game he was playing, taking casual steps towards him as she spoke.

"Well how rude of me, whatever can I do to make up for it?"

The instant her fingers touched Kai's crossed arms they unwound, scooping her up in between them and humming in the back of his throat in consideration. "Tell me a secret."

"What?"

"A lie for a secret, I think that's reasonable."

"That no one else knows?"

"That's generally the basis behind the term."

Biting the inside of her cheek Bonnie went through half a dozen wisecrack remarks that she could get away with but none of them stuck, the thought of purposely letting Kai in on a piece of confidential information that's stored away ringing of intrigue in the back of her mind – something he has done for her repeatedly. Drifting her hands up around his neck his clear blue eyes on many occasions such as right now have given the illusion that he could somehow see through her, listening in on her internal battles. When he looked at her like she was the only thing on his mind it felt like Bonnie's throat was closing, knowing she was just as if not more vulnerable in these situations than when they're intimately together.

Times like these – when there are no hidden agendas or motives of deception – are when Kai has the best chance of getting her to speak her mind, and he takes every opportunity he finds. Not wanting to waste this moment she gave herself a minute to ponder on something he would like to hear that she hasn't shared with anyone before. Whenever Kai drops his guard and tells her things she believes he hasn't discussed much before Bonnie feels a natural inclination to do the same; a strange sense of support and comfort they've found in one another filling her with dauntlessness.

"This is the first Christmas since my Gram's passed away that I can remember being genuinely happy."

"I don't think I've ever felt like this," Kai responded wiping her expression clean to a blank slate, clearing his throat and finishing with a flash of his cheeky grin, " _on Christmas._ "

Hearing her stomach growling Bonnie glanced down quickly and back up to him, smiling sheepishly for breaking whatever enchantment they were just in. "I think I'm ready for the rest of that breakfast buffet."

"Seeing how you only took a couple of bites out of most of them everything's wrapped up and ready to go in the fridge, but if you want to wait a little longer I can make you something fresh."

"That'll take too long," she said suddenly starving and pulled away from him trotting off towards the kitchen, standing in the archway between the living room and the hallway when Kai stopped her. "What?"

"Look up," he said softly and she obliged, the smile widening seeing the mistletoe hanging over their heads and flicked her gaze a fraction down to his, gazing at her.

Flattening her palms against his lower stomach Bonnie puckered her lips the same time he leaned forward and felt the warmth from his mouth go directly to her core spreading throughout to her extremities. Resting his hands against her hips Kai kissed her with light and easy strokes, no zealousness or over-eagerness in his touch and stayed there lost in the moment until they eventually parted. Smiling and lifting his arm gesturing for her to lead the way she headed for the fridge and began pulling plates wrapped in cellophane out one at a time until the counter was covered in items.

"Oh yeah," sounded behind her and turned to Kai holding up a blender, "I totally forgot about making smoothies earlier."

"Perfect, let's make them now," Bonnie practically salivated taking out the things he'd need like ice and fruits.

While Kai got together all of the necessary ingredients she was switching off between heating up a plate in the microwave and eating the contents off of another, the back and forth working out quite nicely with something always being at just the right temperature.

"What kinds do you like?"

"Strawberry's really the only kind I get."

"Have you tried others?"

"I go with what I like."

Smirking in response Kai weighed out strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, vanilla yogurt, ice, and poured a little bit of water into the blender. "Do you like the taste of berries in general?"

"Yes."

"Okay than you'll love this."

Dumping all of the contents into the blender Kai pressed a cap over the top holding it down and pushed the button shredding up everything inside until it was a purple thick liquid, the aroma of mixed berries all around them. Pouring two glasses and garnishing the top with a strawberry he handed one off to her and Bonnie was in love by the first sip, getting down almost half of it before she could stop herself. Squeezing her eyes shut Bonnie let out a pained noise holding her forehead.

" _Brain freeze._ "

"See? It's inevitable when something is so cold and delicious and you want to consume it all at once."

Peering over at him through her same uncomfortable expression of squinted eyes and a scrunched up face Bonnie tried to blink away the head rush and he stayed sipping his drink casually, hiding his grin behind the glass. Finally passing she went back to the triple berry threat and still managed to finish it before Kai, looking back to the blender and wanting more. Sauntering over she poured the rest of the contents into a pitcher and rinsed out the blender, cutting up strawberries and dumping them inside along with ice, yogurt, and a little milk.

"Do you mind putting back on the music for a few?" she asked scanning the counter for the lid.

"Yeah, sure."

Turning and heading towards the door Bonnie found the rubber lid but didn't see the plastic part that went in the middle anywhere, assuming Kai just kept his hand over it and went to do the same. The spurts of yogurt shooting through her fingers made her yelp pulling her hand back instinctively, the cover exploding off and screamed out in surprise covering her face as the smoothie went everywhere. Gasping she pulled out the plug and looked down at the streaks of white and pink splashed on her shirt over her torso and arms, glancing over to the sound near the doorway and seeing Kai holding onto the side of the counter bent over in hysterics. The moment his head lifted in her direction the next uproar rolled in holding his side as tears pooled in his eyes.

"Something funny?"

"You – you-"he got out between gasps of air, "you got a little something on you. Pretty sure there's a little plastic square somewhere underneath all of that."

"Can you come show me where?"

Taking it as an invitation Kai couldn't stifle his amusement as he closed the distance, reaching back and wrapping her fingers around the handle of the pitcher. As soon as the touch of his lips were against her neck Bonnie yanked off his beanie pouring the thick purple smoothie over his hair as he let out a sound of getting hit with a icy blast of shock, lifting his agape-mouthed expression to hers.

"Just remember who started this."

Recognizing the deviousness in Kai's eyes she tried to run but he was faster and snaked his arm around her stomach pulling her backside into him, flailing to get away when a heaping of chocolate sauce came squirting out of the bottle all over the front of her neck and chest. Shrieking as it dripped down into her shirt Bonnie pushed his hands over her head hitting Kai in the side of the face with the chocolate and turned around in his grip - both battling on who can get more on the other until the bottle was well past empty. Having a chance to check the damage Bonnie threw her head back in such a gut-busting laugh - seeing Kai's face a colorful mess of purple and black and arms a lighter shade of stickiness from her rubbing her hands around them – that she slipped on a puddle they made and he hurled her into his stomach to keep from falling.

The front of Bonnie's shirt was stuck to his and her fingers and toes started to tingle tilting her head up to Kai's perilous smolder, both a sense of danger and risk reflecting in his irises compelling her to delve deeper into his psyche. Like an invisible rope dragging her in she couldn't stop the thoughts and memories spiraling around her, her house rule coming back for her with a vengeance seeing glimpses of Kai during their night in Paris and replaying the carnal promises that were spilling from his lips. The loud sound of a nozzle pulled Bonnie's focus back as he twirled a dollop of whipped cream on top of her head.

"My very own _Bonnie sundae_ ; I could devour you."

The phrase had her mouth watering at the suggestion, going for her last ditch effort before she tackled him to the ground tearing at his clothes and turned the nozzle in his hand aiming it away and hitting him directly in the face. Going for round two of tug-of-war the sound from the whipped cream can was getting drowned out by their noises of merriment, Bonnie shouting out when Kai had her pinned to the fridge pouring ice cubes down the front of her shirt and not letting them fall out the bottom by pressing his hips into hers. Shivering at the contact her nipples hardened and strained against her shirt, her arms starting to shake from the abrupt frigidness and leaned off the kitchen appliance pushing her chest into his.

Scooping her up Bonnie's butt landed on the counter as he moved between her open legs spilling the ice over the floor and leaned in sliding his open mouth from the top of her chest up her neck to under her chin, a harsh breath escaping her before Kai sealed his lips over hers and tasted the mixture of sweet chocolate sauce and whipped cream rolling off of his tongue. Moaning into the kiss Bonnie went to move her arms around him and the food had her body sticking to his, turning her head to the right as he continued to suck and bite across her skin reaching for the faucet. Flipping the handle up she snatched the little hose and blasted it at Kai's ribs, his gasp letting her know how cold it was before he turned it on her.

Wheezing for breath between her laughter and drowning from the small stream the both of them were drenched within the minute but the syrupy texture was still glued to them like a second skin, along with Kai's hair still being a prominent shade of purple. His grey wife beater was dampened and could see his taut muscles clinging to the flimsy material, running her palms down gripping onto the waistband. Seeing his hat on the counter beside her Bonnie slid it over his smoothie and chocolate covered hair hiding it from view and the black material popped out his dark facial hair and defined features, unable to take a breath staring back at something so provocative.

"You really do like the hat," Kai uttered lowly through a raised corner of his mouth, pulling her shirt over her head in one swift move and grabbed the sides of her shorts yanking her to the edge of the counter.

"And you like me half naked," she inferred twisting her legs behind his.

"As opposed to fully clothed, but there's a whole other end on that spectrum."

Lifting Bonnie with one arm the other cradled the back of her head before slamming her into the fridge, leaning into him to lick and nibble at the dessert displayed in front of her and recoiled when her naked chest rubbed against his frozen shirt.

"Oh!" she exclaimed pulling back instinctively, the sudden chill jolting her system and peeled the clothing off. "You're freezing."

"So are you."

Pressing her chest flat against his Bonnie's arm's snaked over his shoulders bringing her face next to his ear and whispered, _"Warm me up."_

Not needing to be told twice Kai's hands winded around her back and squeezed, the heat in his eyes manifesting in his lips feeling the burn scorch her own and sizzled throughout the rest of the her body, igniting her from within. Bonnie could tell by his tense posture and fervent kissing that there was an undercurrent of sexual aggression making an effort to break free but he seemed to be adamant on fighting it off; his tells giving away the losing battle. Gliding across her jaw the suction of his lips had her rolling her hips and dropping her head back in a sigh, core tightening and letting out an expletive when Kai bit down too hard.

Digging her nails into his upper back a deep rumble sounded – shocked that it was coming from her – and felt her temperature rise to the point of believing she was scalding to the touch. Twisting her hand around his neck a flicker of sparkle caught Bonnie's eye and looked to the gift on her right middle finger, licking her lips at _Miss Scarlet_ having full advantage over this encounter and had an unyielding belief that it was only the first leg of their showdown. Up until this moment she figured the main intent behind Kai's gift was to be able to entice the temptress out of her – which it does – but it's more than that; this version of her is wild, free, and gets exactly what she wants… which is him. Reminding Bonnie of her alter-ego brings out a sultry and easygoing mindset that she rarely gets to experience, able to get lost in him as her troubles, worries, and anxieties all drift away. This ring was indeed a reminder of what she has inside her and is capable of demonstrating, but it was ultimately a symbol of what Kai is able to bring out of her and the person she becomes when it's just the two of them.

Moving around restlessly in his tight hold Bonnie heard her own voice soothing out the word ' _bathroom_ ' and was on the move at once, the sounds from the shower already trickling down the hall. Rounding the corner into the room Kai dropped her to her feet pulling the shorts down with the momentum and scooped her back up pressing her into the wall as the waterfall from the showerhead poured down the side of their faces. Naked, Bonnie was able to wiggle around sliding her chest over his and laughed into the lip lock feeling his sweatpants between her legs and pulled at the drawstrings, his bulking frame pressing into her harder.

"Why are you still wearing these?"

"Because it's the only thing keeping me from not breaking your house rule," he said in a voice so low she could feel the vibrations in her chest.

"So you're just going to stand there… in a shower, with your clothes on?"

"Mm."

Bonnie's head tilted to the side thinking back over all the little moments today that could have – and should have – escalated but didn't, because of Kai. Even though this was her decision she's shown flagrant disregard desperate to find that overwhelming wholeness she experienced while they were in Paris, in both intimacy and understanding. Being with Kai has brought out a sense of safety that Bonnie doesn't know if she's ever felt before, clinging to it against any external or internal force threatening to tear her away. It terrified her knowing that not only is Kai breaking through all of her shields of protection and opening up about things she never would have thought possible, but he's also beginning to unknowingly possess an influence over her that is continuously growing stronger and making her fall deeper.

Bonnie didn't want to sleep with Kai in Grams' house because it has always been her sanctuary; the place where nothing and no one can hurt her, and the man pressed up against her hasn't been exactly known for his gentle touch. Truly letting him in while they were in her childhood home – the very same location where Kai spent an entire summer alongside the best person she will ever know, meant accepting him as someone significant in her life and bringing him into the closest part of her heart… and Bonnie didn't know if she was ready for that.

"And you're okay with it not going any farther?"

"I'll take you any way I can get," he said in a hushed tone lifting a corner of his mouth.

"Why?" her thought bubble dribbled out before she could stop it, heart dropping into her stomach seeing Kai's expression shift and turn serious.

"What?"

"Nothing, I – I don't even know where that came from."

"Why… what?" he asked again, certain she was momentarily flat-lining from mortification and felt her hands shaking around his neck. "Why am I fine with doing this, or wanting you any and every way I can get?"

Peering over his hard stare Bonnie faltered looking right and running her face under the water, a three second escape from the problem's her big mouth is causing before Kai held onto the side of her neck making her face him.

"I'm serious I really don't know why I said that."

"Well you did, so talk to me," Kai vocalized and saw the crackle of irritation rising under his demeanor, jaw clenching and posture tightening when her mouth remained closed. "You know if the roles were reversed you would have used some ancient truth potion on me by now to finally answer all of the unresolved questions that have gotten piled up over the months."

"You do have many inquiries," she agreed aiming to make light of the topic – unsuccessfully.

"How is it that you can strip down naked in a shower with me, but you won't let me in your head? I used to have a pretty good intuition on you, I could read what you were thinking just by your expression but I got to tell you since I've gotten this physical upgrade my receptors have gone AWOL and I'm over here flying blind."

"Welcome to the real world."

"I'm fine with the real world – spectacular even; it's _your_ little universe I'm grappling with. Why is it so difficult for you to talk to me? No let me rephrase, because you have zero hesitation in going to a war of words if we're arguing but if it's anything real you shut me out; why is that?"

"I don't mean to," Bonnie puffed, "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what _we're_ doing and everything gets chaotic when I think about it too much. I like you, but-"

"Don't say ' _but'_ ," Kai cut in, "let's skip right past that word."

" _However_ ," she reworded noting the flare of his nostrils, "I'm just… hesitant."

"Of what?"

"Of really letting you in."

"Why?" he asked in a dismal tone, the unfamiliar sound catching Bonnie off guard.

"Because I – I'm scared," she rushed out, tripping over her words seeing Kai's unsettled expression, "not of you, of… everything else. See this is why I don't like talking about this stuff; I don't know how to."

"You're doing fine," Kai expressed, waiting for her to go on and turned the dial making the water warmer.

"Kai, I… loved Jeremy more than I ever expected, I went all in and gave him everything – I couldn't live in a world without him, and it ended badly. Horribly, actually, and I've just had that part of me shut off since then. It's ironically not you, as cliché as that line is; I'm damaged."

The steam and speckles of water hitting her cheek efficiently hid the tears of vulnerability welling in Bonnie's eyes, one of her weakest attributes surfacing and rearing its ugly head for the first time in too long. As far as being the most badass witch in town goes there was nothing that was going to cloud her mind and abilities, holding onto the problems of others so she couldn't dwell in her own. When the heartache did finally start to subside Bonnie made a promise not to put herself through that again, unsure if she was able to endure it. Jeremy created a space for himself in her heart that made it somewhat easier to be able to get past the worst of it, still having their friendship to link them together and keep the flame for them alive but since she found out about him hooking up with his deceased ex-girlfriend while they were still dating there has been something vacant within her – almost used to its emptiness before Kai's spark rekindled it.

Tugging her chin up Bonnie hadn't realized her head had lowered and peeked up to deep shades of blue staring directly into hers, the absence of his usual mischief amplifying her skittishness. "Take it from someone who's been branded as defective; there's nothing wrong with you, Bon."

"How can _you_ of all people believe that? After everything I've said and done to you; I killed you."

"Would you kill me now?"

"Wh – no, but-"

"And why not?"

"Because I care about you," she admitted lighting up his somber edge.

"Well I would have accepted ' _because you know me now'_ but that was so much better. You thought I was dangerous and going to hurt you then – which I wasn't by the way, just so we're on the same page – and you were protecting yourself. We had to work our way up past the stab wounds, and I know I was never somebody you wanted to get close to," Kai chuckled, "but here we are, with _me_ telling _you_ that you aren't the messed up one."

"Maybe we're a couple of lost souls," Bonnie smiled wearily seeing the love-starved and emotionally deprived similarities they possess, "but you're not the same person from 1994; the merge had the biggest impact but I think the prison world is where it began."

"Then you must mean when I met you, because I was pretty dead-set on the plan up until that point."

"You mean giving your coven the excruciating death they deserve?"

"S _harp memory,_ " Kai let out a whistle, "I guess it's a good thing we found each other then."

Chin wobbling at the sentiment Bonnie's stomach fluttered and tightened moving her stiff limbs restlessly from being curled around Kai's frame. Rubbing over the sweatpants stuck to his legs her feet hit the ground pulling them down with the momentum and wrapped her hands around his rigidness squeezing up to the tip, his body shuddering in response. Keeping his arms outstretched on either side of her he made no indication of making any sudden movements and Bonnie could feel her hands shaking as one pumped him slowly and the other traveled up his stomach, his muscles clenching under her touch. Her heart was racing like a jackhammer peering into Kai's eyes becoming heavier and darker, his chest rising with more force through each breath and lifted onto her tiptoes trailing her lips up the side the water hasn't hit and massaged across his skin tasting chocolate and berries everywhere.

Dropping his forehead to her shoulder Bonnie could hear the quick huffs exhaling through his nose along with the squeak of his palms sliding down the wall, realizing he wasn't caging her in but physically keeping himself from putting his hands on her. Being hit with the keen awareness made her skin tingle missing being in his embrace and ached for their connection, needing it after the day she's had. Continuing her leisurely caressing over his tautness she pulled her face back and he lifted his to rest it on her forehead with eyes closed, his mouth parted the littlest bit.

" _Touch me,_ " escaped Bonnie's lips and dilated pupils locked in on her, breathing through her lips to accommodate the lightheadedness from the battering in her ribcage.

The look Kai gave her signified she was testing his willpower and restraint, and then his face was gone; letting out a gasp as he wrapped her legs around his shoulders and grazed his teeth through her folds lurching her into him. His name came out as a moan when she felt the flutter in her core and was pushed up the wall, tugging his beanie off and gripping at the roots. The weightlessness Bonnie was experiencing from Kai being able to hold her up with ease and still able to move around in his grasp had her grinding into him, all of the pent-up hedonistic energy from throughout the day building within her in one immense gust; rupturing out of her so quickly she couldn't catch her breath.

Kissing up her stomach Bonnie's legs slid down his ribs curling when they got to his hips and Kai groaned at the contact of gliding in between her wetness, the throbbing from being wound up so tight igniting something within her. Gripping her hips to lean back and have her stand her legs locked around him running her hands over his shoulders and paused over the rapid beating, her resolve over what she wanted ringing clearly throughout her mind. Pressing her thighs forward she rocked into Kai's lower stomach breathing out at the contact of him grazing her underside and he held her still, halting her motions.

"Don't mess with me."

"I'm not; I want you to," Bonnie thrummed hearing her voice come out jaggedly due to the jitters and he leaned in hovering close.

"Are you sure?"

"No… yes – maybe."

"I'm going to need to hear just one of those answers this time," Kai murmured observing his first soft smile since the kitchen, the tender expression against his dominant exterior – solely because of her – breaking through her last ounce of uncertainty and enfolded her forearms around his shoulders.

"Absolutely."

The coaxing of his tongue against hers only heightened Bonnie's overwrought state of keyed up excitement and instinctively clenched from the tension rejecting the pressure trying to push through. Pivoting so Kai was against the wall he inclined back with his shoulders and the motion loosened her limbs leaning into his weight instead of being held up, the constraint against her opening still not wanting to budge with these positions. Reaching up he wrapped Bonnie's fingers around the metal rod holding up the shower curtain and pressed his chest flush against hers cradling the back of her head as he went in for an impassioned kiss leaving her high-strung and rolling her hips into his.

Angling them Kai inched forward once more and was at long last granted access, her arms shaking while they grappled to hang onto the bar and a disgruntled sound tore through her vocal cords at the under-bite of discomfort. Legs locking around his Bonnie's straining was making it more difficult for Kai to slide into even with the assistance of the water making them both slick, trying to pull away from the intensity by lifting up and away from it. Snaking his right arm up her spine the other roamed across her thigh and butt, guiding her into him with subtlety.

"I got you, Bon; relax into me."

Hearing the whimper creep up her throat she silently willed her body to loosen up and puffed out a harsh sound feeling her core slacken and open up for him, her airway getting cut off when she slid all the way down and her pelvic bone touched his. Dropping her forehead to his one of Bonnie's hands fell off the metal bar and reached around his neck, pushing her chest into his to rock her hips and bit her bottom lip at the grunt that spilled out of him. Rising up by lifting with one hand as the other pushed off of Kai's shoulder she quickly discovered that she was able to control their movements for how hard or slow she pumped him, this advantageous realization filling her with self-assurance. Going with her pace to pull back Bonnie slammed down clenching around him and a rumble sounded in his chest curling his arms to keep her against him and thrust forward provoking out a choppy moan.

Kai's chest was heaving on hers, the pants coming out and tickling her collar signaling he was already past his limit and in a losing battle trying to hold himself off. Smiling at the pride welling in her system Bonnie had an unyielding need to break him down and get him off before he was able to make her lose her mind again, her hips rolling in its confined spaced pumping him quick and hard. Uncrossing her ankles and digging her heels lower into his legs the different angle had her leaning back – holding her weight up with one hand – as Kai began to tower over pulling into her motions with his arm wrapped around her lower back.

The heavy breathing and broken sounds were like music to Bonnie's ears, her skin scorching against his and tipped upward to bite and suck all along his neck feeling his pulse leap when she slid over his Adam's apple. Being mindful of his abs starting to clench and grip pulling her in tighter she sunk her teeth into a mouthful of rigid muscle, Kai grunting out a sound with a hint of pain and spun pushing her up against the wall forcefully; grinding into her as his orgasm shook his frame huffing out erotic sounds that set Bonnie's fevered mind ablaze.

"Well it's _about time_ ," she vocalized through a wide smile, feeling utterly victorious, "I took you down before you could ruin me six times over."

"Exaggerating," Kai exhaled lowly through a quick laugh, "but I love the way you worded that."

"It's not that much of an overstatement," Bonnie shrugged and could feel his chest vibrating with amusement as his lips glided across her wet cheeks.

Holding her to his chest Kai moved pulling back the shower curtain and turned the dial off walking from the bathroom across the small hall into her room blind from his face entangled with hers, letting out a shriek when she was tossed backwards and dissolved into laughter when her backside landed on the bed. Crawling towards her Bonnie scooted backwards until her head hit the pillow and his hands landed on either side of her arms, hovering; looking overhead at the perimeter of colored lights on the ceiling and down the corners illuminating an otherwise dark room.

"So I have a proposition," Kai said casually and she tilted her head in response, "what would you say to adding a little festive kink to our night?"

"You mean besides the desserts we decided to wear?"

"Yeah," he snickered, "or _on top of_ that."

"What did you have in mind?"

Kai trailed his index finger and thumb wearing the ring from her hand, down Bonnie's arm and over her breast continuing south as he spoke. "Something Christmassy, revolving around one of the things we love most. And it will set the mood – well… a couple of moods, and you are bound to love it. What do you say, think you can handle it?"

Any indecisiveness Bonnie had fled her mind in an instant, glaring as her hands reached back fisting his hair and pulled him in closer. "You're no match for me."

" _I guess we'll see_ ," he breathed against her face and raised his hand beside them whispering ' _ligatum_ ' before her hands were propelled over her head, securing them to the corners of the bedpost against the mattress as two strands of mini Christmas lights twisted around her wrists.

"This is payback for Paris, isn't it?"

"Little bit," Kai said smoothly flashing his grin before stepping around her legs and hopping off the bed heading out the door.

"What are you – where are you going?" she asked to the empty room, looking to her tied lit up wrists and tugged testing its durability.

"What was it you said to me?" Kai vocalized walking back into the room flipping the can of whipped cream in the air. "Oh right, it was along the lines of any acts of defiance will make things worse for you."

"And the tables have turned," Bonnie concluded shaking her head, "they aren't handcuffs, but kinky."

"Cuffs aren't festive, unless you mean the fuzzy kinds you get for _special_ occasions," he said with emphasis crawling back in between her legs, the canister leaving an icy chill against her side when it brushed against her. "Am I going to find a pair of those tucked away in your belongings one day?"

Virtually laughing out loud at the hilarity behind that question her eyes went back up to her wrists; scanning through a quick slideshow of for lack of a better word her ' _average_ ' sex life with the only person she's slept with before Kai, no memories of the one's like she's experienced recently coming to mind.

"I wouldn't count on it."

Humming with a sound of enjoyment Kai's warm smile loosened something within her and copied his expression, a light sound escaping her a moment later when Kai pressed down on the nozzle sending a dollop of whipped cream over one nipple. The abrupt change in temperature had her perked and willing when Bonnie felt his lips surround her suctioning and tugging and the delicate bud, going to move her hands into his air and let out a sharp noise through her teeth from the restraints.

"Oh yeah get used to that; wanting to touch me – but can't," Kai smirked going to the next breast and repeating, her legs maneuvering to lift closer to his raised position on his knees.

Clasping Bonnie's upper leg he sprayed little bits of whipped cream across her stomach trailing down farther until the coolness hit her inner thigh, lifting into him and groaned as his laughter vibrated into her and sent an electric shock up her spine. Kai's teeth nipped at her skin nearing her entrance and her thighs were shaking with anticipation tugging to break free and end her slow torment when his sultry echoes grated through her subconscious. Knowing that she would be able to get out of them and that he wouldn't push her if she didn't want them on anymore, Bonnie struggled to internally tell her body to take it easy when it was trembling with desire.

The connection of Kai's mouth sheathing her had her upper back bowing off the mattress, wrapping her fingers around the cords connecting her to the bedpost and let out a racy sound liking the feel of the constriction. Incapable of pushing him away or guiding his movements Bonnie was powerless against his secret sexual expertise that had her on the verge within the minute, at the edge of the precipice before he eased her back down and kissed across her other thigh. Shocked with herself for the second time she couldn't control the roar that bellowed up her throat and rattled her teeth in frustration, Kai left light pecks up until his steely eyes were inches from hers.

Seeing the intent reflected back at her Bonnie let out a breathy sigh that turned raged when he gripped her hips pulling upward to ease him in, instead of the other way around. Not able to move her arms on top of Kai using her body at his will gave her a sense that she wasn't in control of herself; the unwillingness to give him her mind coming full circle and resulting in these unforeseen turn of events taking her corporeally. Thrusting he pushed her up the bed clenching down at the fullness and pressed his arm into Bonnie's upper back wrapping his fingers around the base of her neck dropping his forehead to hers.

Even though her arms were bound it still felt like she had Kai at her mercy; being able to roll her hips faster taking him in deeper by only having to move her lower half and his sensual noises enticed her farther. Driving forward Bonnie's fingers curled around the lights exploding them under her electrified state and moaned loudly against his face, pulling at her wrists forcefully wanting to be enveloped around him and hissed out at the twinge of stinging.

"Don't hurt yourself," Kai rasped and her stomach began to quiver and shake letting out scattered fragments that turned into a wail as her climax ripped through her frame momentarily blinded from black spots.

Before Bonnie could take a breath her arms were untied and was flipped onto her stomach, a sound of uneasiness spilling out when her legs were spread eagle and tied to the bed by the ankles; wrenching forward trying to escape.

"Wait – stop –"

"Breathe," soothed beside her ear, Kai's chest an inch above her backside, "there's a reason I didn't do them both at the same time; you aren't trapped. You can still move around just in a different way, and I promise I'll let you out the second you don't like it. I don't know if you trust me yet, but believe I won't do anything that would hurt you."

"That's a loaded statement, Kai," she gritted internally reflecting on their past and the sorrow she's undergone from getting too close to someone who didn't feel the same passion back.

"I like pushing your buttons, and I know how much you can take even when you think it's past your limit, but I'd never strong-arm you into anything; whether we're like this or in the middle of a heated disagreement. And as far as you and I together go – you don't have to worry about my attention wandering to anyone else."

Turning her head sharply to the left Bonnie's eyes locked on his, nose rested against her shoulder. "Why did you say that?"

Raising the space between his eyebrows her head wretched away, not understanding how but seeing in his eyes that he knew. Coiling from tension her feet tried lifting from their confinement and a frantic exhale puffed out feeling claustrophobic. Running his hand softly across her back Kai left kisses across her shoulders as the other kept him hovering without lying on top of her. Mind spiraling, Bonnie's heart and body jumped into the equation tearing at her sanity leaving her in a frenzied state; not able to distinguish one loud thought from crashing into the next and lacking the ability to vocalize any of them.

"Are you okay?"

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered referencing to their weighted discussion.

Blowing out a breath through his mouth Kai's hand paused its roaming, eventually shifting her gaze over her shoulder and tilted her head noticing the conflicted expression and worry line between his eyebrows seeming deep in thought. As if he felt his eyes on her his lifted and locked in, the cloudiness visibly dissipating even in the darkened room.

"I want you to feel safe with me – in every way."

The unexpected confession had Bonnie's heart pounding so hard it was going to burst out of her chest, a slideshow of recollections experiencing that very same irrepressible affection with him both in the prison world and present day – the staggering information never lessening the blow against her frazzled mind. Protection and security was under no circumstances on the list of Kai's highlights when he entered her life and had no intention of that ever changing but the world around her seemed to be doing everything in its power to shake her beliefs. The man behind her was causing an array of cracks in her shell, one wrong move away from breaking through to her soul – her quintessence – and was wholeheartedly petrified of that happening.

Feeling like she was full of too much adrenaline to speak, Bonnie reached back for the side of his face and pulled him in until his lips were against hers. Kissing her gently Kai made no effort to escalate so she made the first move, arching her back and lifting into his rigid shaft sliding in between her cheeks. Curving his arm under her he pulled her onto her knees and moved back closer to the end of the bed to give her more room to move and let out a shaky sound keeping her cheek flat against the sheet anticipating the inevitable resistance against his size. A sharp gasp was startled out of her when the arched position against Kai sitting up on his knees caused him to sink into her with ease not stopping until he pressed against a spot so deep inside she stopped breathing.

Staying perfectly still behind her Bonnie couldn't tell herself to inhale; the depth and fullness making her insides tighten and panted out quickly getting dizzier as the seconds passed. Leaning down to press calming brushes over her back time seemed to fade away and drew in an overdrawn breath letting every current worry seep out of her, getting lost in the person going above and beyond anything she could have envisioned. Falling into a rhythm the inescapable hold from the string of lights tugged against her ankles every time Kai drove forward pushing against her barrier and his voice chimed in her head to believe that he knows what he's doing with her – to trust him.

Completely at his mercy Bonnie felt a knot unwind in the center of her chest and it was as if a weight lifted with it, her body slackening and heard a winded grunt behind her before his hand was in her hair pulling her up. Propelling into her and picking up his pace after each plunge Kai's momentum was forcing her up the mattress past where her restraints would allow and his hand slid around resting his fingers around her neck loosely. The next move pushed her up harder and her knees lifted off the mattress, thighs clenching down against his being fleetingly suspended in the air and the upward motion pushed her into his grip clasping her nape instinctively.

The untamed growl that rumbled in his chest connected in their cores and could feel his virility and lasciviousness through the sound, his tender side taking a backseat to what lurks inside him. Holding her to him with a tight grip her breath came out hitched when he lunged forward keeping her dangling just over the mattress and began pumping upward, the restraints against her feet pulling her back sharply into him and the fast-paced slapping was drowning out the white noise. The speed of him driving into while she was weightless with a sense of extreme lightheadedness as his grasp held her close forced a scream to pierce through her closed vocal cords as the orgasm rippled throughout her and he slammed them down into the mattress. Moving his hand to slide his forearm around her throat the position lifted her chin and arched her butt up as Kai hammered into her with his face pressed against the side of hers. Too far up the bed Bonnie had nowhere else to go causing Kai to sink down to the base rocking into her in small quick movements as she impulsively jerked back and felt him rubbing against her deep bundle of nerves.

" _Kai,_ " she gasped clawing at the sheets to thrust back into him and thought she could feel the entire mattress vibrating underneath her from her trembling – rolling into the following climax with a hoarse cry feeling him jabbing the same spot before convulsing violently and uncontrollably.

Groaning and panting as his body drained all of its energy in one commanding surge Kai moved his arm out from under her neck so she could breathe easier but stayed slick against her backside, his heartbeat sounding like a humming bird thrumming into her back. Scratching his nails up her left arm his fingers curled around the Eiffel Tower charm – his jagged heaves near her face tickling her skin – before he continued up and clasped his hand around hers, the tip of her index finger moving to spin around his ring. Trailing his other hand downward over her ribs his lips brushed against her cheek and beside her eye until Bonnie tilted her head and mewled into his mouth tasting the electrified passion sizzling against his tongue. Taking a few minutes to ease each other down to a somewhat lucid state she pulled their clasped hands underneath her chin holding him close and he kissed across her jaw, biting underneath her ear before he nuzzled into her lulling in a hushed tone.

"Merry Christmas, Bon."


	26. Chapter 26

"Bonnie… it worked."

Stopping the forkful of food halfway from her mouth Bonnie turned her complete attention onto the phone call, looking up at Kai sitting across from her in the restaurant.

"It did?"

"Yes! The locator spelled you did on Klaus brought me to where he was in New Orleans – and you will never believe who I found when I was there. I'll give you a hint; he says ' _greetings from the dead, little witch._ "

" _Kol?"_

"Yeah apparently nobody stays dead and gone for too long, especially when it comes to the supernatural. But it actually worked out perfectly because he has connections with the witches there and has been into the whole witchcraft and wizardly for centuries, so naturally he had a few hidden tricks to show off. One was a potion that made Stefan highly susceptible to suggestion and another that allowed me to get into his mind – similar to the one you did on me. It took a few days to break through but I did, and it really worked."

"Care," she breathed through a wide smile, "I'm so proud of you – you brought him back. I can't believe you did it, how is he? It's been almost a week since I heard from you I was getting a little panicky."

"I know I'm sorry I meant to keep you updated but the hours just started to blend together and I lost track of time, and then he needed another couple of days to cool down after."

"Well, it's New Year's Eve, just to give you a solid grasp on the timeline."

"I know - I mean I just found out before I called you, but I know. Stefan's checking a flight out right now and it should only be a couple of hours so we'll make it back in time for the party. How has everything been while we've been gone?"

"Fine, for the most part."

"And what about things with _you?_ "

"I've been fine too," Bonnie laughed as her eye-line trailed around the room at the other customers, "but I miss you so find the quickest flight back."

"I'm already on it!" Caroline chimed, "I'll call you when we land; I love you!"

"I love you too; bye, be safe." Looking back over to Kai he had a sincere smile across his face and realized her excitement must have been radiating off of her. "Caroline did it, Stefan's back to his usual even-tempered self! They're _both_ back to normal, and they're going to try and make it back for the party tonight."

"Don't forget to factor yourself into that equation; Caroline wouldn't have been able to help him without you, and none of it would have happened if you didn't flip hers back on from the start."

"That impulse trip to Paris might have been the single best idea you've ever had," Bonnie grinned feeling buzzed from the joy of having two of her close friends chalk full of humanity and reached across the table squeezing his hand briefly before pulling back.

"It is definitely one of my finest moments," Kai nodded flashing his pearly whites and bit a fry dipped in ketchup in half, "so… it's New Year's Eve."

And just like that, Bonnie's mood was tainted. She knew by the way he brought it up that Kai's mind was reflecting back on her brief pause of weakness the day after Christmas; when he brought out his softer side caressing and kissing all across her body before moving into her showcasing Bonnie with warmth and intimacy. When she felt like her heart was going to explode she let it slip that she'd tell everyone about the two of them before the year was over – and the abruptness of the day she found herself in now was like driving full speed into a brick wall.

"I know."

"And tomorrow's the New Year."

"You're a perceptive one; do you want to do my Tarot cards next?"

"I'm more equipped to palm readings," Kai retorted sliding his hand across the table flipping hers up and slid his finger across the line closest to her knuckles. "Well this one here is your heart line; it's the most sunken in out one of the three; and the say the deeper the line goes the warmer your devotions will be – which is nice to hear."

"Good job working your point back into the topic."

"It never left, I'm just highlighting it. But I can refresh your memory of the last time you were full of fondness and affection; you were on top on me –"

"And that's right where we'll end that story," Bonnie cut him off turning her palm to slap him on the back of the hand, "how do you know how to palm read, anyway?"

"I'm a witch," Kai uttered in a _'duh'_ tone, "and how can we end a story before it's begun? I was just giving you the background information, buzz in with the main attraction anytime."

"You're really going to hold something against me that I said when I was lost in the moment? I can hardly remember what I said."

"It was right after you moaned out my name-"

"Yeah that's vaguely ringing a bell," Bonnie said in a hushed whisper, "cut it out, we're in public."

"Do you think Mrs. Doubtfire's eavesdropping?" Kai asked pointing his fry to the table behind her and turned almost spitting out the sip of water she was using as a prop to be unsuspicious when she looked over the butch heavy-set woman.

"You're going to Hell."

" _For that?_ " he chuckled taking a bite out of what was left of his sandwich, muttering through half a mouthful, "I'm more screwed than I thought."

"Dissing old ladies will get you there."

"I was just trying to emphasize the Hollywood-esque quality she possesses."

"You really could talk yourself out of any situation, huh?"

"I've had fairly decent luck in that department, I can attest to that. Just like you can skate around a topic like a Gold medalist when you're trying to avoid something – don't you know me? That's nearly impossible when I'm around."

"I've noticed," Bonnie admitted begrudgingly, "so about that whole _deadline_ thing-"

"Oh no, there's no take backs," he said raising his palm up to stop her attempt at backing out, "and _you_ were the one that threw that line. You did have a whole week to spin it into a conversation while you were lounging around with your friends."

"Yeah going out and getting a drink with Damon while he pines over Elena would have been the ideal setting to casually drop in, _'by the way, I've been seeing that kid that we wanted to kill in the prison world.'_ "

"Sounds clear-cut to me, besides I'm fairly certain your girlfriends already know."

"They suspect, there is a lengthy separating between _thinking_ and _knowing_."

"So put them out of their misery."

"And just launch myself into it instead," Bonnie summed up, "Kai, I like the way things are between us-"

"That won't change – nothing between us will, we'll just be free to act how we usually do only with other people around."

"But they'll ask so many questions that I don't have the answers to."

"Like what?"

"Like… what are we even doing – what would you call us? We aren't dating, there's been no talk of formal titles; we're friends with benefits. How am I supposed to explain to them I've been lying this whole time and that I'm into you while bringing up the fact that we're just kind of screwing around?"

"Our lack of a label has really got you this tripped up?" Kai's question went straight to her headache but could hear the openness in his tone, genuinely wanting to know. "Is this your way of telling me we should get one?"

" _No_ it's not, it's me freaking out about telling everyone I've been hooking up with the former-enemy and envisioning the sea of questions I'll be drowning in."

"I'll throw you a life ring if they start pulling you under."

"What a great help you are."

"I have my moments," he grinned and twirled his fry around the ketchup, "so what do you say we stick to the typical fairytale fashion since it worked so well in our favor last time. Only now we're switching up stories, and you'll have until the stroke of midnight while attending a magical party to tell them about us."

"Or else I lose my heel and your car turns into a pumpkin?"

"And then it's the prince's turn to step up and find the princess to put everything in motion."

"Which is?"

"You've seen the movie, I'm sure you can figure it out," Kai responded casually as the waiter appeared beside them asking if they'd like any dessert before disappearing to get the check.

"So this whole ultimatum of ' _say something before I do'_ doesn't really sit well with me."

"It's more of a countdown, and I'm not the one that stuck the deadline on it, remember?"

"Vividly," Bonnie gritted frustrated with herself for being swept up and in his force-field that seemed to make her say and do things she's never had to endure before. "You told me before you had something planned out on how you'd tell Jeremy if I didn't; were you telling the truth?"

"I generally am," he remarked nodding once, the whiff of devilry personifying under his neutral expression icing her sweltering skin.

"What is it?"

"I've foreseen a few scenarios playing out depending on the surrounding circumstances," Kai said formally and doing what he does best; responding without _answering_ the question.

"Okay well give me a _what if_ of one of them; I need something to go up against what I envision will happen if I tell him and judge which will cause the most destruction."

"Mine's worse," he said simply, Bonnie opening her mouth to speak when the waiter came back handing off the small black book that the check was in. Momentarily distracted she rummaged through her purse grabbing her wristlet and pulling her real credit card out, clutching it. "Oh, did you want to pay for us?"

"Sure," she agreed, originally planning on just splitting the bill but not wanting to press her luck as she eyed the man coming back over Kai's shoulder, her wristlet flying out of her hand and the card falling to the ground as she went to catch her belongings.

By the time Bonnie was sitting upright the waiter and little black book were long gone, but Kai's obnoxious smug was still fully intact. "Maybe next time."

"If I had used the other card would you have cared?" she asked accusingly, Kai's response being an overdrawn sip of his drink. "You're a child."

"I know," he agreed through a bright smile not at all offended and his breezy good-humored mood was contagious, attempting with difficulty to be stern with a person who has been wired to be the opposite.

Playing through her own explosive synopsis' of how the night could end the steady escalation of apprehension and fear started up, as it does on cue before any holiday or gathering between her, her friends, and the guy she brought back with her from her extended vacation in an alternate dimension. Ever since Bonnie broke the one vital rule she set for herself – one that was more revolved around keeping Kai out mentally than letting him get to her physically – she's had a knot coiled up tight in her core, each day that passes making it twist as if she was being rung out from the inside. The pressure to finally get the words out and tell everyone the truth about the two of them filled Bonnie with a bone-chilling numbness that seeped deep inside until she was paralyzed, crippling with panic.

Although a piece of her wants to tell her friends about everything that's been going on over the past year the unwillingness she possesses to let her small bubble of happiness be potentially popped by vocalizing it has done nothing but spin her way of thinking in circles until the room was whirling around too. It seems that in the blink of an eye Bonnie had worn down the clock and was now ensnared between two loaded weapons, one in Kai's hand and the other held securely in her own. No matter which she chose a trigger was going to be pulled, and she had a sinking feeling her first New Year back in the real world – when the shock and denial that she would be able to celebrate the years changing again still hadn't fully dissipated – was going to have more of an impact than Bonnie could withstand.

xx

Hooking the little clasp that connected the two strips of material around the back of her neck Bonnie glanced up to the mirror, taking in her reflection. This little black and gold number was one she bought in Paris with a night like New Year's Eve in mind and it was one Kai hadn't seen her purchase, a thrill tingling up her spine anticipating what he would think. The top half of the dress was covered in gold sequins; starting from the collar secured around her neck down to her midsection with a revealing slit down the center to where the bottom skirt began showing off where her breasts meet with no bra to hold them in place. Her arms and backside were completely bare as the material dipped down her sides into the two layers of a black flowing skirt – the top a thin fabric of lace – and twirled in a circle, judging how high up it went when it wasn't resting against her mid-thighs. The matching gold shimmery heels gave her a couple extra inches of height and her curly hair seemed to be doing a nice job of framing her face.

Moving over to the dresser Bonnie put on the moon necklace Elena bought her and hung Kai's gift off of her wrist, watching the Eiffel Tower twirl. Reaching for the ring her hand froze halfway, all the comments she would hear from her friends starting to interject inside her eardrums about this significant piece of jewelry. They've all hung out since Christmas but she has made it a habit to leave her fancy Paris jewels behind and that did not seem to sit well with the guy who's been rooming with her, his brisk remarks a watered-down version of what's reflected in his demeanor. Even though she was giving herself pep talks on how to break the ice and let others in on her secret, the flagrant and undisguised meaning behind the Scarlet ring was too colossal to lead with and he was going to have something to say over it.

"Sorry, I don't think you can go anywhere," a deep voice sounded behind her before nails were tickling down her back and leaned in beside her ear whispering, " _I have to defile you first._ "

Snorting out a laugh she turned to Kai's equally upbeat smile and felt hers waver when she scanned down his body looking at what he was wearing. Also choosing the stylish Paris approach but with a New Year's twist he wore black jeans with the matching suit vest and instead of a white shirt it was a deep sapphire blue with the sleeves rolled up, the hint of color making his irises pop and the contrast against the white and silver striped silk tie hanging loosely around his neck had them shining like a clear beautiful sky.

Bonnie's pheromones spiked exponentially as she leaned in close to knot the tie breathing in the scent of Kai's body wash blended together with his own intoxicating aroma and had to remind herself if she took him up on his offer she would never leave the house. The charge of his fingers trailed down her arms and looked up to his eyes trained on her bracelet, flicking the charm. She held her breath knowing what was to come next and watched his features shift when his thumb wearing the spinner ring slid down Bonnie's still naked middle finger.

"They're already going to give me a hard time about the bracelet."

"Why does it matter if you're telling them tonight anyway?"

"Because I'd like to tell them in my own way, and not have them bombard me with questions and figure everything out before I have a chance to say anything."

"Pretty sure most of them have us figured out," he remarked letting her go making Bonnie feel uncharacteristically frosty without his touch.

"I would be getting the full speech if they knew."

Shrugging and giving her an unconvinced look Kai retreated back out of the bedroom but not before she caught his flash of aggravation, swiping a shawl out from the closet before meeting him in the living room where he was tying his shoes. Hopping to his feet he scooped the fedora hat off the table and opened the front door for her following behind, their lack of usual comfortable chatter not bothering her as Bonnie was swept up in potential scenes that could play out tonight – each more traumatizing than the last.

If the pile up of cars didn't draw in her attention the base and vibrations from the music straight ahead would have, breathing in sharply getting hit with the same acute sense of claustrophobia she experienced during both the welcome home party and the rave. It had been over a month since Bonnie made it back home and had assumed her triggers or skittishness would be long past by now but her mind and body refused to adapt back into her surroundings. Feeling Kai's hand press down on hers she looked to her balled up fists in her lap and loosened them automatically, seeing the question displayed on his face. Reaching between them for her clutch she pulled out her phone and texted Caroline to see if she was already here since she said she was home safe over an hour ago.

Before she could receive a response Bonnie happened to glance over to the door at the same time Care came barreling out in a shimmering deep rosewood pink dress, the tight-fitted material clinging to her frame. From the top the flashy dress looked conservative with the material going just below her neck into long sleeves, but the length of it hugged her upper thighs displaying her long legs down to the pointed heels and noticed when she turned to hug someone her back was also bare only connected by a thin string across the top. Her long blond hair was hung loosely over her shoulders and beamed with an aura of beauty, the same vibrancy she's possessed since she was a kid.

"What a blonde bombshell," Kai hollered out his open window and whistled a cat-call for added effect, Bonnie surprised at the laughter that erupted out of her nervous system and swatted the side of his arm.

Stepping out into the crisp December breeze Caroline's giggling trickled towards her through the sound of the wind lightening her own apprehensive mood and met her halfway wrapping each other in a warm hug. "I'm so happy you're back, Care."

"It wouldn't have been possible without you," she said squeezing her back and her eyes were glossy when they pulled apart, smiling widening when she looked over Bonnie's shoulder. " _Or you_."

"I go where the lady goes," Kai smiled back with sincerity, looking from one girl to the other, "besides, you guys were fun company."

"Yeah, Stefan told me the night almost ended with you bled out on the floor and it sounded pretty brutal, how did you manage to make it out of that?"

"Nurse Bon put me back together again," he summed up placing his hand on the crown of her head wiggling it as he spoke, "good as new."

"And then some," Caroline said with a wave of her hand gesturing to his outfit, "Apparently Paris was good to you in some ways."

"Great to me in others," he uttered casually and Bonnie's blood chilled, forcing herself not to look his way and caught her friend eyeing her as she linked their arms together and started back towards the house.

"What did he mean by that?" Care whispered and she gritted her teeth, not even making it to the party and was already on the defense.

"He's full of vague one-liners."

"Well we never did have a chance to talk about _your_ trip to Paris, what did you two get into?"

Bonnie spent the next hour and a half filling her best friend in on one of the most remarkable adventures of her life; starting from the very beginning of how plush and luxurious the suite she was staying in was, to the bone-snapping and spell-casting doctoral role she took on, and vivid details about every place she went to around the city. Forced to keep some occurrences in her mind she passed through every blip of intimacy and regretfully didn't divulge in the most romantic moment of her life – inside the Eiffel Tower no less, but Caroline's knowing expression gave her a sinking feeling that she could see right through her.

"The trip was worth it in every aspect, but those flights back and forth? I don't think I can go through that again for a while."

"Yeah I was going to ask you how you survived, I know how much you hate flying you won't even watch movies revolved around plane crashes."

"I knew I was coming to save the day, so that helped," Bonnie joked finishing the last of her second drink, the liquor seeming to do a decent job at pushing her nerves down and out of focus, "and the destination just so happened to be our childhood dream so there were really strong factors that got me through it."

"Your traveling companion alleviated some of the stress too, I would imagine," Caroline stated with clarity as they made their way through the kitchen back into the living room and poured a glass of sangria into her glass with the ladle.

"I guess."

"Oh come on, Bon – it's me! Talk to me," Caroline laughed filling her glass and clanking the two together, "I was at that Masquerade Ball too. I saw the way you danced together, and how fast you took off when you thought he was in trouble. And Stefan may have filled me on a few other things too."

"Like what?" she asked too quickly earning a wry smile.

"Like the reason behind why Kai almost died."

"Because Stefan wanted the spell broken," Bonnie commented through her confusion, "and his reinforcements were executed when they came in to help him."

Caroline's grin broadened like the Grinch, practically twirling her fake mustache and snickering in her face at how naïve and innocent Bonnie was. "Kai killed them because they were trying to escape, to find me – to find you. Stefan said he didn't mind the manic witch so he gave him an out; he wouldn't bleed him dry if he let him out of the room, but Kai refused. Then another couple tried to do the deed and took his focus off the ripper he was stuck inside with to set them on fire and Stefan came at him from behind."

Turning her head like she had been slapped Bonnie scanned the room eyes roaming posthaste and paused at the open window off to her right, the scene in front of her bringing an eerily calming effect to her frantic mindset. Kai's hat was pulled down low over one eye and was making slow rhythmic moves across the floor towards Elena – whose back was turned and talking to Damon – and grabbed her head pulling her backwards into a twirl sending her strapless shimmering midnight blue dress up her legs with the motion. A startled shriek left her lips that turned humorous when she realized who it was, smacking his vest jokingly and leaned in to hear him over the music.

On cue Damon stormed the eight feet over getting in between them and sneering in Kai's direction. Bonnie's head cocked to the side, never noticing before now the differences of their sizes in present day compared to the prison world. Kai has always been a couple of inches taller than Damon but his pre-merge frame was smaller giving him a more fragile look; the bulked up man with the scruff splashed across his face standing here now displaying anything but weakness as he towered over the older Salvatore brother. Murmuring something back to him Bonnie's eyes widened when both Elena and Damon turned in her direction locking eyes and her breath caught fighting the instinct to step away from the attention. Shifting over briefly Kai's hat covered the top of his face but could still see his smile, spinning around quickly to avoid the heat of tension drifting towards her and came back into view with Caroline's piercing gaze.

"He never told me."

"You'd think risking his life for someone else's would make his list of achievements to brag about," Care said amused but the statement sunk deep into her chest.

A sharp memory resurfaced of watching as a helpless bystander as Kai pushed Jo out of the shed and locked the door behind her leaving him alone with his abusive father. He knew the details of the spell Bonnie used on Caroline and that she would be separated from her physical body, therefore couldn't sense any oncoming attack that would be directed at her and made the choice to leave himself at a disadvantage rather than her. Lifting her glass to drink half of its contents her vision swayed slightly when she tilted her head forward thinking she could be deemed certifiable feeling like the flood of thoughts were drowning her from within.

"Care-"she uttered closing her eyes and heard her respond through an unsmiling tone.

"Yes?"

Willing her mouth to force out the words Bonnie's eyebrows were scrunched up so tight her entire face felt pinched with concentration and said the mantra in her head over and over until she let out a sound of frustration. Her vision clouded with Caroline's patient and endearing expression – one she always put on when she was waiting for someone to reveal something they didn't want to admit to, and could see the nonjudgmental candor staring back at her. Caroline and Elena have been her two best friends her entire life and both have qualities that she adores and other that wish could be adjusted, but one of the most substantial changes they've undergone since becoming vampires is their outlook and critic of others.

Where Elena used to be open and understanding Care was disparaging and closed-minded and both adapted to their new way of life in different ways; one's resistance and struggle to get better acclimated weighing out heavily against the other creating a better version of herself. When they were kids Bonnie was closer to Elena because of all that they had in common and how bratty their other non-biological sister could be but now that they've grown up she's seen a true friendship blossom between her and Caroline, and has come to believe she can tell her anything.

"I like Kai."

" _Yes,"_ Caroline responded hissing out the _S_ grinning wildly at her, "I was two seconds away from reminding you of how sexy you admitted to thinking he is."

"Sometimes I wish when you all flip your switch over that the memories from then fade away too."

"Nope, they're still clear as day highlighting everything that we did and said when he had no filter to stop us, it's great. But it does have its perks such as right now," she beamed and leaned in hugging Bonnie tight. "Am I the first person you've told?"

"The _only_ ; it's terrifying enough mustering up the courage to tell you, everyone else…"

"Will have their own pre-set criticisms and accusations, but you're already expecting that. Wow so many things are clicking together – have you been together the whole time you've been back? What am I saying; you wouldn't have brought him back with you to begin with if you didn't care about him already. How did it happen? I know girl boy meets boy in prison world synopsis but Damon's been painting a pretty gruesome picture about your inmate while you were gone."

"Well the things he was telling you weren't exactly exaggerations," Bonnie vocalized feeling her insides turn, "he had a really bleak and violent upbringing with a psychotic barbarian of a father. It's not an excuse for what he did because I know it's unjustifiable, but…he's more than that."

"You _really_ like him," Caroline concluded and the way she said it hit her the wrong way.

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Because you're reminding me of myself; falling for the branded _villain_ with a tragic past and an explosive relationship with his dad, I know the appeal."

Bonnie felt blindsided that she didn't think of the parallels Caroline had with Klaus going through these exact same overbearing thoughts and emotions clashing off of each other. "But you were smart and got out of it before you got too close."

"We got pretty close," she nodded looking off to the side sipping her drink so Bonnie did the same, "so how is he in bed?"

Coughing through the gulp the liquor went down the wrong pipe burning all the way down and threw her hand up to her chest choking on the remnants still in her mouth. Caroline's cheerful merriment could still be heard over her ears ringing and raised both arms in the air to clear her airway, heaving in deep breaths when she was finally able to.

" _Care!_ "

"That good, huh? I assumed it had to be something pretty special to get a souvenir out of it," Caroline chortled swishing the charm with her index finger dangling from her wrist, "I can't wait to hear the _undisclosed_ version of that story next time."

Cheeks scorching with heat all Bonnie could do was avoid her gaze and force back the rest of her drink as soon as her throat stopped burning. "I knew you would be the most understanding but I still thought you would give me more of a hard time over this."

"I guess a part of me has had my suspicions for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"When Damon came back from Portland outraged that the ' _fool-proof_ ' plan to get you back had gone awry because you wouldn't leave behind the sociopath."

"His dad was going to kill him," Bonnie argued but Caroline's expression told her she already knew that.

"Which I thought was reason enough to stay too, but then I thought back to an earlier conversation hearing that you threw a pic-axe into Kai's chest at your first opportunity out – which resulted in Damon's early departure home. So I knew something memorable must have happened between that span of time with you two, and then when I saw you together I was positive."

"And you weren't going to say anything?"

"I _hinted_ , excessively – and I wasn't the only one."

"Elena," she uttered with dread looking around the area and wavered for a beat seeing Kai talking to a couple of girls near the entrance of the kitchen with a plate of food in his hand. "She knows too?"

"She assumes, but ever since Kai did that memory wipe of her loving Damon she's been more stubborn and narrow-minded on the whole ' _loving the bad guy with the dangerous past_ ' angle but I'm sure if you talked to her about it she'd understand."

Bonnie bit the side of her cheek not thinking that telling her other best friend would have been too much worse than this but now her nerves were bubbling back up to the surface lingering against her temples. "Great."

"I can tell how much he likes you too," Caroline commented, most likely to distract her. "He doesn't let you out of his sight."

"He's over there talking to a group of girls right now," she said gesturing over Care's shoulder to the now empty doorway.

"Actually Kai's chatting it up with Damon on the other side of the room, but if you stare at him for a full minute he'll glance over to see if you're still standing here."

"You're overemphasizing."

"Just watch," she suggested and Bonnie did it out of spite to prove her wrong, getting no farther than thirty seconds before Kai shifted his eyes to her, his small smile not helping her case and looked away abruptly.

"That was just a coincidence."

"You don't pay attention enough," Caroline smiled through a shake of her head, "he looks pretty smitten."

"That is never a word I would associate with Kai," Bonnie remarked through a quick laugh.

"Well than you better broaden your vocabulary, Bon, because you two seem to be infatuated with each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"You've been my best friend our whole life, I know everything about you – including when you're lying or holding things back. It's different from how you were with Jeremy, but some things are still the same too. I can tell when you're into someone, and Kai's more or less declared he wants to be with you when he won the merge and stayed here instead of going back to lead the coven. Is it serious?"

"What – no – we're… I don't know what we are we don't even have a label yet. We're getting to know each other-"

" _Intimately_ ," Caroline finished flashing her teeth, "just admit it for me one time, please?"

Feeling the buzz from the three strong glasses of sangria Bonnie's scandalous smile broke through her composure and laughed out seeing her friend bounce in front of her with glee, waiting for the confirmation.

" _Yes_ , we have, okay; was that as satisfying to hear as you thought it would be?"

"And so much more!" she squealed a little too loudly drawing attention from the crowd around then and sputtered out laughter holding onto the side of Bonnie's cheeks. "My little caterpillar has blossomed into a full-grown butterfly right before my eyes."

"You're so corny."

"You love it," Care argued her arms around her neck, "but now I just have so many questions; did you sleep with him before and after the merge, and if so was it different at all? Do you plan on dating? What about him versus Jeremy, what's the scoop on that?"

Groaning out a loud sound of misery the arms around Bonnie loosened staring into a face of jubilance. "I'm not answering any of those."

"Okay than just this one; is Jeremy better at…"Caroline made a clucking sound out of the side of her mouth with her teeth and her appalled reaction resulted in the both of them bursting into a fit of hysterics until tears brimmed her lids. "That wasn't my real question but your response spoke _volumes_. No, what I really want to know is; are you happy?"

The genuine smile that spread across Bonnie's lips at the contrastive question against all the rest warmed her heart, swaying ever so slightly from the surge of adrenaline against her tipsy state. "I think I am."

"Then don't let anyone ruin it," Caroline divulged filling her with confidence that she wasn't crazy or doing something wrong and inhaled deeply letting the feeling flow through her system before someone tapped her shoulder, spinning to lock eyes with Jeremy's worn out gaze.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"Okay," Bonnie replied and hugged Caroline telling her she'd catch up with her later.

"Bonnie I wanted to apologize for the way I acted at the party, I didn't mean to blow up on you like that or cause a scene. You caught me by surprise, and I know that's no excuse but I just reacted without thinking because I refuse to accept that it's really over between us. I've messed up things in our relationship in the past which gives you a good reason not to trust me but I've changed while you were gone. I felt what it was like without having you in my life and saw all of the things I've taken for granted; I should have put you first over everything else in my life."

The words cut her open like a fresh wound; shocking and piercing as it tore through her ribcage crushing her heart in a vise-grip. Bonnie has thought about this very scenario too many times to count; Jeremy admitting to past mistakes while telling her the things every girl wants to hear, and yet it wasn't what she expected. What she never factored into the equation was the emotional mindset she could potentially be in or the rare variable of having feelings for someone else. Glancing away an invisible pull brought her vision directly into Kai's fiery fixation directed at her, his face void of emotion making it that much more strenuous to read him. A girl pepped something on his side and he either didn't hear her or chose to ignore it continuing his scrutinizing examination of her and Jeremy and whipped her head back towards the conversation, steeling her chaotic mind.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that, Jer; I know we had our hardships while we were dating but I don't regret anything that happened, and I don't blame you for why we aren't getting back together now. I was hurt and angry at you for so long, but somewhere between being an anchor to the _Other Side_ and getting trapped in an eternal _Groundhog Day_ I realized the most cliché quote of them all – life really is short, and I can't keep wasting it living in the past and holding onto the negativity. I'm happy that you've been able to grow and make changes in your life while I've been gone, I feel like that's something we both needed to do to discover who we are without each other and open our eyes to what's around us. You're still one of the most important people I've ever known and we'll always be in each other's lives… just not in that way."

"Bonnie," he soothed stepping forward reaching for her left arm – the one with Kai's Christmas gift dangling from her wrist – and moved quickly reaching for the pitcher off to the side to refill a new glass, distracting herself from his forlorn expression. "I still want you in my life no matter what way it is, but I don't think the topic should be just brushed aside without talking about it."

"But we have talked," Bonnie said turning back to him, "time has brought us to this moment on two separate pages from the most unforeseen circumstances imaginable. I went through my own transformation that set me on an unusual path – one that has me not sure which way is up sometimes but I'm not the same girl that you fell for. Honestly I don't know if you would like the person I've become very much."

"Why do you think that?"

"My views on a lot of things have changed; about myself, the people I care about, and what I want. I accept your apology about how you reacted last week, and I hope you can forgive me for tonight."

"I don't think-"

"Just… keep that in the back of your mind. There's still so much more I want to tell you but I – I can't. Not right now at least, but I'm going to find you again before the ball drops, okay?"

"Sure, maybe we can bring in the New Year together," Jeremy smiled still holding onto their connection by a thread and wrapped his arms around her shoulders rubbing her naked back but Bonnie's mind was elsewhere playing through a handful of speeches she was going to have to force herself to say. "I'll see you soon."

Frozen in the same spot staring off into the distance long after she was left alone, Bonnie took two big gulps of her drinks and turned heading to the kitchen for something to eat. Rummaging through the fridge and cabinets like she still lived here Bonnie reached up as far as she could manage going for the bag of chips when she felt a pair of hands graze just below her butt where her dress was hitched up to and a voice rumbled sending goosebumps across her skin.

-x—x—x—

"Hey stranger."

" _Kai_ ," she hissed swatting at his hands and pulling down her flowy skirt, "someone could see."

"You in that dress? I'm aware, so if every guy in the other roo; especially the handsy ex. I take it he's still not in on the secret?"

"Perceptive," Bonnie commented biting a chip in half, "I'm trying, okay? It's not as easy as some of the other things I've had to tell him – like I wasn't coming back from the _Other Side_ , for instance. I'm getting there; I just needed a break from everything a minute."

"Fair enough," he nodded grabbing the hand not holding the bag and steered her out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"To take a break from everything."

"If you're leading me to Damon's bedroom I will kill you," she promised and Kai's barked out a laugh, the idea nowhere revolved around what he was thinking.

"Such a dirty mind, what ever will I do with you?" he wondered looking beside him and squeezing her hand, turning another corner and gesturing to the wide open double doors where the club music was blaring from. "If I recall correctly we have a fond memory from the last time we were in this room."

"When you first showed off your moves, how could I forget?" Bonnie replied walking in front of him into the large dance hall now packed with people lingering around the perimeter with groups of people jumping around to the music throughout the center. The room seemed smaller now cluttered with partygoers but was nicely decorated like the rest of the house with a bouquet of balloons, streamers, and enough party supplies to last them for at least three more New Year's Eve's. Lifting his fingers to drag them down Bonnie's spine she turned abruptly giving him a stern look, a vast contrast against his cheerful grin. "Cut it out, one of them could be in here."

"All of your friends are in the living room, and you need to relax for five minutes. Come on, dance with me," Kai requested putting out his palm in offering and she looked from his hand to his face half a dozen times before hesitatingly accepting.

Shaking his shoulders to the fast beat Kai lowered his hat and looked down walking backwards watching her feet as he pulled her deeper into the crowd to blend in. The instant they were shielded he lifted his head pulling Bonnie in close and her hands slid up his vest not stopping until they were high in the air above their heads and saw the tension drift away, her smile brightening and spun in a circle swaying her hands to the song. Kai didn't stay in one spot as he danced around her jiving or sliding against her soft skin and risqué dress, his blood pressure rising every time Bonnie spun sending the bottom of her dress up with the motion. The sounds of delight brought a smile to his face but it was the expression she had – an open mouthed grin so wide her eyes were almost shut with a vibrancy of blissfulness – that caused his chest to tighten and ache, drinking in Bonnie's every feature.

Rocking her hips from left to right her hands pumped overhead snapping along and slid her heel across the floor gliding farther with each step making him follow close behind. Pivoting on her heel she pushed against Kai's chest keeping them a few feet apart and her giggly smile had shifted; the temptress he's grown to crave peering back at him. Hearing the song change to more R&B sensual with a steady beat Bonnie checked to see how much room was around her and popped her butt back, running her hands through her hair flipping it to the side and sliding them down her breasts and stomach pushing them between her thighs. Hiking the skirt up her back arched when she rolled her hips backwards and leaned her chest out towards him with lips parted, every ounce of Kai's blood heading south observing Bonnie push his limits with yet another hidden side of her that he wants more of. Churning her hips in the same sexual manner random whistles and cheers sounded from the immediate area from guys and girls and strutted the two steps to him, spinning so her backside was against his front and held onto the back of his neck with her right hand pressing his around her waist as she dropped to the ground in a split; the sudden movement pulling his head down with her earning an uproar from the herd and stood back up with him pressing her body into his.

"Let's see what you got," Bonnie enticed letting go and backing up a few steps, scanning around to the circle that's begun to surround them.

"Are we – is it finally happening, are we battling?"

"If you can keep up," she shrugged and his wicked grin spread wider, the range of his dance skills succeeding most people's expectations from a first glance.

Shrugging noncommittally Kai tilted the hat to the side making sure it's secure and began stomping towards her similar to how people do when they're stepping in a fraternity; bending each knee and stomping forward to her while his elbows were bent raising his arms up over his hand and swinging them back down crossing them in front of his face and chest like he was giving someone a bear hug. As the circle around them cheered louder he stopped short when he reached Bonnie turning to the side and pushing his shoulders forward and hitting his chin back with his hand, repeating the move five or six times as he leaned backwards as his chest rolled with it to make his movements seem robotic. Facing her Kai threw both hands up to the left than down to the right, dropping to his right knee and spinning in a circle swiping a handful of glitter off the floor and stood blowing the sparkly flakes through his fist over Bonnie's shoulder.

The crowd went nuts and Kai backed away wiping his palm free of glitter with his _femme fatale_ hot on his heels, holding onto his neck to swirl her hips and he followed her lead dropping lower until he was down on one knee with Bonnie straddling his thigh. Flipping her hair she rocked her head to the left letting go of his neck and he gripped the sides of her ribs moving his head in the opposite direction, holding her as she propelled to the other side lifting off of his leg and arched so far back the tips of her hair hit the floor. Running her hands up her chest and over her face she pushed her hands off the hardwood launching her a few inches from Kai's face and breathed her in, spinning her body out a few steps before her hands and knees hit the ground down on all fours.

Whirling her body around with the momentum one hand moved behind her back to balance while the other glided a handful of glitter across her chest, sliding in behind her to pull her glittered hand around his neck pressing his face into the side of hers trailing his nose down. Pushing away Bonnie spun and crouched in front of him like a predator, deep vibrations rumbling in his chest as she began to crawl backwards and chased after; grabbing another handful of glitter as she sat back on her knees throwing the pile over her head throwing her other hand behind her so she didn't end up banging her head off the floor. Arched and blind from his oncoming attack Kai wrapped an arm behind her curved back and pulled her up into him, smiling when her body connected with his and she slid her hand around his neck resting their foreheads together.

The music and manic noise around them faded away seeing Bonnie's dilated eyes staring back at him and lifted them both to their feet, the tension sizzling the longer they chose not to break contact. Cupping the side of her jaw with his free hand Kai had her confined in his grasp and could feel her pounding heart matching his as they both tried to catch their breath and keep it together. Slaps on the shoulder and comments of appraisal started to cloud back into Kai's mind snapping them out of their spell and Bonnie's limbs tensed immediately shoving away from him and looking around frantically to see if any of her friends were around. After a minute of investigating she laced her fingers in his and pulled him away from their devoted fans back towards the entrance and made it almost all the way there before he tugged her over against the wall, running his hands down her dress and sliding his fingers under the skirt gripping bellow her cheeks.

"I've already been thinking about all of the ways I could have you in this dress and that little number you did didn't help your case," Kai breathed lowly across her jaw trailing back to her ear, "if you keep this up we're going to end up having a repeat performance of _Clue_ , only with a lot more potential witnesses."

"In your dreams."

"You've made my dreams come true in the past," he summed up spreading her legs open wider by the back of her thighs to press his hips forward, "what's to stop us from making that happen again?"

"My sanity," Bonnie concluded rubbing the side of her face against his rough facial hair and nuzzled into the crook of her neck keeping her body against his.

"That's overrated."

Finding amusement in his response Kai could feel her chest vibrating and leaned back to her matching lighthearted expression. Gliding her palms down Kai's vest her hand slid to his jeans pocket and reached inside pulling out his phone, eyes bulging when she turned on the screen.

"We have less than twenty minutes until the ball drops!"

"And then it's a Happy New Year!" he cheered excitedly, "I haven't had one of those in a decade or two."

"Come on we have to get back to the living room," she rushed and ducked out of his grasp taking off out the door.

"Off to talk to your arm candy some more?" Kai teased jogging up beside her, "I'm cool with that. But you should know, if the night doesn't end with little Gilbert enacting some force of physical violence on me I'm going to be pretty upset."

"You're the first person to tell me you'll be mad if someone _doesn't_ punch you in the face."

"Good, I like being your first," he muttered pressing his hands to her back and drifting them down her arms, tilting his face into her neck from behind, "I take great pride in that, actually."

"Too bad you've done just about everything while you were locked away; I can't seem to find anything that you haven't experienced already."

"I wouldn't sell yourself short Bon, there are plenty of moments I've had only with you."

"Like what?" Bonnie asked staring off to the side avoiding his eyes.

"Well no one has successfully killed me before," Kai offered remembering that fateful day so long ago hearing her snort out a laugh, "and people have been trying to do that all my life so I find it very impressive. Damon's cowardly approach doesn't count since he knew I would come back."

"So in other words I'm the one that's been able to hurt you the most, great example," she said lightly but his grip tightened around her forearms hearing the way Bonnie viewed his statement, turning her in his arms and having her take a couple steps back towards the wall to shield them from drunk partiers.

"What's wrong?" he asked glancing from one eye to the other, the tension from earlier masking over and tightening her features.

"Nothing," she huffed and Kai raised a brow, "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen once everyone knows and how that might affect us. Which makes me wonder what it is we're doing to begin with and reflect back on everything that's happened over the last year. I push you away, Kai – I always have; I'm constantly battling between getting closer to you and sprinting in the opposite direction. What if the pressure of them knowing is too much for me and you get fed up dealing with my mood swings? And then the secret's already out and I have to go through the whole process of _that_ -"

Placing his right hand on the wall beside Bonnie's head his left thumb slid across her jaw as his fingers curled cupping the side of her neck, his penetrating stare cutting her off mid-sentence.

"You're the one person in the entire world I'm not sick of, and who I want to be around; whether we're fighting, or…" Kai trailed off flashing his smile earning an eye roll. "You say you've hurt me the most, but I think you're the only one in my life who hasn't. You can try pushing me away all you want Bonnie – but I won't let you run."

Bonnie's breath hitched, parting her lips to let out a puff of breath and reached for his wrist wrapping her fingers around and squeezing to the point of discomfort. Her eyes darted over his face seeming too stunned to blink and held her gaze until she did, cocking his head slightly seeing them gloss over like she was about to cry. A wave of panic started to seep in wondering if she spun his words around again and interpreted that she can't escape him – which isn't entirely false – but didn't want it to come out so sociopathic.

"Woo the year is finally almost over!" A drunk girl cheered off to his left stumbling down the hall with her friends, "here we come 2013 – watch out world!"

"The universe should be terrified," Kai pointed out watching them turn a corner and looked back to Bonnie's soft smile before a realization hit her and reached for his phone.

"Oh God we have to go."

Speeding off down the hallways until they reached the living room packed full of people Kai looked over at the massive flat screen that was unmistakably _not_ here during his vacation frozen in time and read there was less than eight minutes left on the countdown, leaning in and humming the Jeopardy tune in Bonnie's ear to get a rise which worked with minimal effort.

"I'll tell you what; instead of having to tell everyone I'll let you off the hook if you tell one person in particular," Kai suggested pointing over her shoulder to the Gilbert siblings chatting near the window.

"I'd rather tell every person in this room," she shot back and he chuckled beside her.

"Really?"

" _Really._ "

"Then go for it, but you're on a pretty short time crunch and there are _quite_ a few college kids in here."

"And what if I don't do either?" Bonnie questioned turning and giving him a stern glare indicating she means business, his smile widening at the thrill.

"Then you'll run out the clock," he said simply and her eyes narrowed, "wouldn't want that to happen, right?"

"Maybe if I knew what _you_ had planned than I could make that conclusion for myself."

"It might help, or you could just take my word on it. But full disclosure a large part of me doesn't want you to tell him."

"What?" Bonnie hissed looking over at the clock and back at him quickly, "why?"

"I could explain it but-"Kai made a ticking sound out of the side of his mouth and glanced down at his imaginary watch, "yeah I think it would take just about that same amount of time you have left."

Darting her eyes from him, to the clock, and over to Jeremy Bonnie flashed him a lethal stare that he was sure intimidated the average man but he felt a surge of excitement igniting his body leaving him wanting more. Clocking the countdown at 5:47 Kai sauntered over to Damon's decanter pouring a real drink and kept his eyes trained on the conversation fifty feet away.

"You look like a stalker," Caroline chimed bumping the side of his arm, raising her glass to clank off of his which he obliged to.

"That's what I keep telling people."

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"The weather," he mused and she turned sitting on the small table diagonally in front of him, catching her gaze on him in his peripheral.

"Maybe it's about you."

Shifting his eyes to the left sharply Kai's brows drew in farther the brighter her smile got and took a casual sip of the bourbon. "I'm sure I'd be able to tell if it was."

"Did you know the precise moment while she was talking to me?" Caroline asked in a tone of feigned innocence tilting her head to the side, Kai letting out a sound of self-satisfaction that he was right even though Bonnie failed to mention it.

"Yeah well you're kind of a dead giveaway," he laughed filling with pride that she told her best friend – and it was a coin toss on which he thought was going to be the first. "What did she tell you?"

"That she likes you," she said off the shoulder, catching his reaction and mimicking his enthusiasm.

"That's funny that that's what she lead with seeing how it's roughly the third or fourth time she's admitted it out loud."

"Hm," Caroline hummed finding intrigue in that piece of information, "let me ask you something; if you've been hooking up since before you even made it back, why am I just hearing about it now?"

Widening his eyes that Bonnie had told her that much Kai looked overhead to 2:52 on the TV and over to the fidgety girl stumbling over her words and the guy standing too close in front of her. Scanning the rest of the room Elena was still standing nearby talking to Stefan and Damon and the crowd started to get restless as the sixty seconds drew in closer. Keeping up with the conversation he kept his fixation on the side of Bonnie's profile, waiting and watching as the couple of minutes played out.

"She's afraid, which is ironic in so many ways since it's Bon we're talking about and her fear isn't even directed towards me. You all seem to have a say over what she does and feels – according to her, and admitting it meant letting all of your opinions in clouding her own. I know what a part of her feels about me, even though she can be… stubborn, but if she has other people in her ear it's not going to be good for my case."

"Did you want her to tell us?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I didn't care at first, and then I just had one specific target in mind."

"And what about after that?" Caroline pressed, catching her coy expression out of the corner of her eye as kids started to rumble the thirty second countdown. Checking the duo in the corner Kai's teeth clenched watching Jeremy move in closer and leaning down to her ear to talk over the noise, looking all too chummy in a time like this. "You seem to be able to read her pretty well.

"She's the only person I've been around in eighteen years; I've picked up on a lot of things. Like right now for instance, would you say they look closer to fighting or kissing?" Turning with curiosity Caroline did a double take absorbing their look of intimacy and peered over at Kai to read his expression. "Yeah I thought so too."

Slamming back the last half of his drink the hooting and hollering began to amplify counting down from ten and Kai moved around the table walking with determination in each stride. Making fists at his sides seeing that Jeremy's lips was essentially touching her skin he heard everyone cheering _3… 2…_ before he took off his hat and murmured ' _excuse me_ ', moving between them and sealing his lips over Bonnie's as she stumbled back a few steps from his momentum. The house turned into white noise incapable of deciphering one voice from another and drowned them all out, sliding his hand up the side of her neck and tilting his head to deepen the roll of his tongue.

Giving him just enough time to feel her kissing him back Kai was yanked backwards knocking a lamp over on his way down hitting the floorboards loudly, a hard impact connecting with his left eye and then a _crack_ on the right side of his jaw. Not one by nature to take a fight sitting down he blocked the blows to his face reminding himself of who was hitting him and _why_ and an eruption of laughter bellowing out of his throat at the recognition, throwing his arms out sending Jeremy backwards. Rising to his knees Kai's Cheshire grin forced an enraged sound from his opponent before he launched forward for the next round.

Shrieks from around them became deafening and suddenly three blinged-out dresses were in his immediate eye-line; Elena and Caroline forcing Jeremy backwards as Bonnie towered over his knelt positon in her heels, arms folded snug over her midsection. Hostile spews trickled through the heaping of people ringing in his ears and stood tall, able to see the pent-up ex over her head looking like he could commit murder. Glancing to the right the Salvatore brother's stared back at him – one looking a tad more peeved than the other – and checked left to her girls displaying emotions of both eagerness and worry, looking back down to the little ball of fire planted in front of him.

"Are you out of your _mind?"_

"Okay so I may have jumped the gun a second too early, but I kept my word."

"What the hell is going on, Bonnie?" Jeremy demanded.

"Don't tell me you're slumming it with the sociopath," Damon spoke up earning a multitude of petrified faces aimed at him, ", he's… you know what he is!"

"I know _who_ he is," Bonnie countered taking him by surprise, looking to his left where she stood shoulder's squared off against everyone surrounding them in a semi-circle.

"So do I Bon-Bon, capable of doing things I can't discuss in mixed company."

"Pot – kettle," Kai replied knowing he was guilty of the same faults shifting his eyes from Damon to Jeremy.

"What is going on?" the crushed little brother remarked again and he could practically hear Bonnie's heart beating out of her chest.

"Kai and I have been getting closer since we got back – since before… I couldn't tell any of you, _especially you_ ," She specified staring at Jeremy, "I didn't know how to. And I knew it would end up turning into a big blowout like this."

"At least you were smart enough to figure that much out," Damon mocked and every muscle in Kai's body tensed, willing his feet to stay where they are and saw Bonnie's head snap to the side in his direction. "What? You know what you're doing is wrong which is why you were already well informed of our disapproval."

"After everything he's done?" Jeremy chimed in stepping closer bumping into Elena, "you would put your life at risk by trusting it with him?"

Bonnie's head shot back at the statement like a physical blow and she looked up to him staring back at her, a question that's rolled around his mind once or twice too but didn't want to push the answer out of her. Observing the shift of uncertainty pass over her features Kai could see her mentally talking herself off the ledge and breathed in deeply before turning back to face them.

"I can take care of myself, I always have."

"Also I've gotten a little nicer over the last month but that's just details," he added meriting a smirk from Caroline.

"You're toxic; you ruined your family's lives and you'll destroy Bonnie's too, it's just a matter of time. You're really selfish enough to drag her down with you? You've already made everyone else who ever gave a damn about you regret it."

If Kai wasn't so pissed off he would have to amend little Gilbert for being able to give it back to him and gut him where it stings. Hearing the blood roar in his ears everything else fizzled away and his vision clouded; a similar effect that used to overcome him when his dad would push him too far. Instead of blacking out Kai had taught himself to harness the violent energy and propel it out of him as he deemed fit; generally expressed in explosions of rage but on rare occasions could hold onto it like a blanket encasing him and react in a calm, methodical, and fatal manner.

"Guys it's a _New Year_ ," Caroline stressed breaking the silence and standing between the two men, "which means new beginnings, fresh starts, and clean slates. And remember that Mayan premonition that the world was supposed to end in 2012? We _survived_ that, we're all survivors… that's reason enough for a celebration so why don't we reign in the testosterone and enjoy the rest of the night together."

"Are you sleeping with him?" Jeremy asked the second Caroline ended her sentence staring intently at Bonnie and whatever her soundless expression gave away sent him over the edge, taking two wide steps landing in front of the both of them. "You're making a mistake; he'll never be able to love you, and then he'll leave you – if he doesn't break you first."

Leaving her momentarily speechless Jeremy didn't look back as he weaved through the swarm disappearing from sight, checking Bonnie's frozen expression before Caroline stood in front of her urging them both towards the opening to the front door. Staying silent he listened as her friend did her best at soothing the burn of Jeremy's words and reassuring her it will all blow over as quickly as it started.

Pulling him off to the side Kai couldn't help smiling at one of the people who care about Bonnie most ordering him to take care of her and mercifully accepted the task. Avoiding him altogether she was out the door and halfway to the car before he caught up and unlocked the doors, looking at her over the hood and blowing out a breath knowing his night was far from over for him.


	27. Chapter 27

"Bon you're starting to freak me out, you didn't say a word the whole ride home," Kai remarked as she made her way up the front steps, unlocking the door unhurriedly and walked down the narrow hallway turning left at the end into the bedroom. Kicking off her heels and throwing the shall she didn't end up wearing into the closet Bonnie took a step to her right snatching a pillow off the bed and threw it behind her, waiting a few seconds for his reaction before begrudgingly turning to face him for the first time since they left the Boarding house; a flood of emotions swimming around his eyes and confusion appearing the most dominant. "What's happening?"

"I'm tired."

"No you're not; I can see the fieriness staring back at me."

Bonnie kept her mouth shut, the bubbling rage she felt the entire ride home nearly at its peak and was trying desperately to keep from erupting. Taking long even breaths her eye-line dropped to his shoes just before the doorframe and back up as he hovered outside the entrance, flashes of uncertainty and aggravation arising the longer they stayed squared off across the room.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Well I'm not going anywhere."

"Kai," she gritted through clenched teeth, the slither of venom in her tone, "back off."

Squinting at the threat his fist tightened around the pillow before launching it at the bed and stepped through the threshold, his statement clear by his action. Kai's bulking mass took up the space in the doorway hindering Bonnie's trouble-free route of walking into another room to keep away from him and rubbed her temple fighting off the migraine that was brewing.

"I need to know what you're thinking, because I'm having a pretty hard time coming up with why you're so upset."

Stopping her hand mid-rub her eyes darted to his and stepped forward instinctively. "Are you serious?"

"Completely."

Fisting her hands so tightly at her sides that they shook Bonnie took another step towards him and stopped short, the violent roars in her head drowning out her voice of self-control. "Get out of my sight, before I tell you to get out of my house."

Kai's look of frustration shifted to uneasiness in a millisecond, crossing half of the room in a rush before she threw her hand up to halt his movements. "Bonnie you were planning on telling them all anyways. I know you told Caroline which meant Elena wasn't far behind and everyone was eventually going to find out but you've been struggling to get the words out since the day we got back; I was ripping off the Band-Aid."

"You think you were _helping me?_ " she hissed feeling something within her snap, "well now who's the liar, because what you did had nothing to do with me and everything to do with you and your narcissism! I told you I would tell them and _I was_ but you had to take control and play out the situation the way you wanted to see it happen. It's reassuring to see the guy from the prison world is still in there, you had me worried for a week or two."

"If that's supposed to insult me – it doesn't; I happen to be pretty fond of the happy-go-lucky guy I used to be and that's who you liked first too but all of that aside you're still wrong about my motives. Yes I wanted to rub it in Gilbert's face you're mine and not his – you caught me – but I didn't do it over some self-absorbed head trip you're trying to spin, I wanted to make it easier for you. If you really didn't want anyone to find out I wouldn't have done anything tonight but that's not the case; you admitted to wanting to let your friends in on what's been going on between us and had gone as far as _telling_ one of them, but you were a wreck after and that was with someone who seemed to be okay with it… maybe even supportive."

"Stop trying to talk your way out of it!" Bonnie barked not wanting to hear his side of the story and shoved her forearm against his stomach to push him off to the left so she could get by, shocked that he didn't grab her arm to stop her instead following behind into the kitchen before blocking her path again.

"I'm explaining where I was coming from to get you to understand."

"Understand _what?_ "

"That I did it for you – so you didn't have to."

"You really are delusional," she summed up listening to his calming tone and gazing up into a pair of overwrought eyes, both seeming utterly beside themselves by the others reactions. "This is my life, _my decision_ –"

"That you already _made_ when you decided to tell Caroline," Kai cut her off, "and if you had already set the plan in motion for everyone to know, why does it matter so much how they found out? Call me crazy but I thought it might have been a little less painful for you if they all found out in one disbelieving moment rather than break it down to each of them one at a time."

"You're crazy," Bonnie responded walking around him to get a water bottle out of the fridge and turned to him right beside her.

"You make me feel it sometimes," he agreed, "this conversation makes that list too seeing how I still don't know why you're this angry when I did something that _you were dreading_ to do yourself."

"You and I both know deep down this was about your ego, you were essentially marking your territory."

"That's a new one," Kai chuckled and rolled his eyes back when her jaw clenched and nose flared, running a hand through his hair leaving it in disarray. "I guess half of that sentence isn't totally far-fetched, but you honestly think I did this with just my own selfish needs in mind?"

"Yes, I do," Bonnie stated with absolute belief and could tell he heard the clarity in the way she said it too.

"Even though I'm standing here telling you that it's not true," Kai concluded and she crossed her arms in response. "Then how else do you want me to convince you?"

"I don't," she said simply, stepping left to walk away and he followed her movement.

"Bonnie I know you have your own unique voice and can stand up against just about anything, but you seem to forget that around your friends. You let them get in your head and mess with it until what they say clouds over your judgment and seem to think they somehow have a say over anything you do in your life. Then when things get bad you let them take you for granted showing a timid side that I never thought I'd see and still help them out of their issue of the day. But tonight was different; instead of worrying about everyone's reactions you held your ground and set them all straight, you told them exactly how you felt and didn't care about what they had to say back. _That_ is who I was trying to find and bring out when I kissed you, not to show off how great I think I am."

Peering into one eye and then the other Bonnie could feel her wrath draining with each declaration he made, her indignation over being convinced he was aiming to embarrass her with his self-serving impulsiveness still lingering in her bones. Wanting to hold onto the heat boiling under her skin she knew the only real chance she stood against not falling for his words was to avoid him altogether which was next to impossible when it came to Kai. Trickles of shouts and spews from Jeremy and Damon pierced through Bonnie's skull closing her eyes to try and shake the noises out unsuccessfully and stormed across the tiles, her blinded state not slowing her down as she wandered off to nowhere in particular. Rounding the corner back into her bedroom she pushed the door behind her and groaned when she didn't hear it shut.

"This whole walking away from you thing really doesn't seem to be clicking."

"I see it; I'm choosing to ignore it. Don't be mad at me."

"I'm pissed at you."

"Well cut it out," he murmured and Bonnie could hear the smile in his voice, Kai's gentle approach against her edginess making her feel like she was a lit fuse that was ready to go off at any given moment.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" She snapped over her shoulder yanking the covers down.

"I don't want to."

Pivoting to the dresser behind her Kai leaned back against the top with his hands in his front pockets studying her, his face being void of anger irking her even more. "Well I don't want to hear your voice so one us better start doing what the other wants."

"Not it," he said swiftly and Bonnie slammed the pillow that she was fluffing back in its place, swiping the other one and swinging her arm around hitting Kai in the ribs.

Switching her aim she swung it into his stomach followed speedily with a hit to the bicep, his arms lifting to shield his face and made a variety of staggered sounds against the oncoming attack. Leaning off the dresser the momentum from the pillow was causing Kai to move sideways towards the door and managed to get him nearly all the way out before he reached up catching one of her swings and turned pressing her into the wall beside the opening. Arms rose overhead still holding on the shaking from his outstretched arms gave Bonnie the illusion that maybe he was vibrating with rage until her gaze lifted to a dazzling smile and deep laughter.

Scoffing out in exasperation she started pushing away to escape his close proximity, smacking Kai's arms over her head and pressing her palms flat against his chest attempting to propel him backwards. Hearing the light thump of the pillow hit the floor hands encircled her wrists and held them against the wall on either side of her head before Bonnie could take a breath, huffing out a sound of violence through her teeth.

"Let me go!"

"Take it easy," Kai pleaded in a soft but stern tone, peering up at him through slits and his face being inches away from hers caused her to see the beginning of a purpling bruise at the end of his left brow down and around to his cheekbone, certain that the final product was going to be noticeable and well-deserved. Flicking her gaze down to his jaw she couldn't see anything under his faint scruff and tugged against his grip, gliding his hands up to clasp hers and brought them both down slowly resting them beside their hips. "Bon, please-"

" _Don't_ ," she cut him off, knowing if he finished that thought in his persuasive voice she was done for.

"Believe me," Kai finished anyway and felt a piece of resolve chip off of her firm settlement to shut him out, dropping her gaze from his staring across the room.

"I need to think about it," Bonnie let out honestly and listened to his overdrawn exhale the same time his fingers gripped hers tighter briefly before letting them go.

"Yeah, okay." Bending to grab the pillow his other hand held onto the side of her neck when he stood back up and her line of view darted everywhere but at him, letting Kai know she wasn't about to accept any form of affection. Leaning in he tilted Bonnie's head up with his thumb under her chin and kissed her forehead, eyes shooting up involuntarily at the gesture he's never done before. "Goodnight."

Moving briskly Kai was out the door on her left and shut it behind him, sinking to the floor where she stood and pulling her cheek to her knees; the tidal wave of reality crashing down on her that everyone finally knew about her and Kai wondering how that was going to affect her from here on out.

xx

"Care, I need you to save me."

"From who?"

"Elena," Bonnie said with dread, "she wants to go out to lunch and talk… and I'm terrified."

"Oh it won't be so bad," she giggled lightly, "it's not like you have to sit her down and _tell her_ , you've already made it past that. Now you get to give us all the dirty details."

"Yeah you're right maybe I should do this on my own."

"Oh no, I'm already walking to my car I'll be at your house to get you in ten!"

Before Bonnie could respond the main screen was lit up signifying the end of the call, taking another minute before changing out of her pajamas into something nice for the first day of the New Year. Looking through the outfits she bought in Paris her smile spread wide seeing the top of purple lace and pulled out the hanger looking it over. The dress was a shade of deep violet and had overlapping layers – longer in the back and shorter in the front – falling to her knees, a velvet strip going across her midsection, and the material hugged her chest to just above her breasts like a corset. A layer of flowery lace went over the corset starting from the velvet strip and went up over her shoulders like a tank top, cutting across just below her neck revealing a taste of skin underneath.

Unzipping it and sliding it on Bonnie was able with a bit of labor to zip it up and walked over to the dresser putting on a pair of dangly pearl earrings, Elena's moon necklace, and Kai's bracelet, staring down at the silver ring with a dark red stone in its center. She hadn't even left her room other than the one time to use the bathroom since she woke up, let alone going off to finish the conversation they were having last night. Looking away and heading to the closet Bonnie slid on a pair of heels and a half-cut white blazer, passing by the dresser to check her reflection before glancing down once more. Putting her palm flat against the wood her fingertip was towards the piece of jewelry two inches away and curled them scratching her nails back in contemplation, snatching it up quickly and sliding it on her right middle finger, exhaling the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Picking up her purse beside the door she cracked it open and peered out, the sound of the shower across the hall catching her attention and dug around for a pen and the small notebook-sized pad of sticky notes. Scribbling ' _out to lunch, be back soon'_ across one and sticking it on the bathroom door Bonnie continued down the hall opening the door the same time Caroline was pulling into the driveway – behind Kai's Lamborghini. Cursing internally she walked down the stairs and pathway feeling utterly unprepared for the lion's den she was walking into and opened the passenger door sitting down and looking over to a smile so wide her eyes were squinted.

"So Kai spent the night?"

"Uh, yeah," Bonnie said putting on her seatbelt extra slowly for a distraction.

"Been doing that a lot?" she perked and pressed on when it was followed by silence. "Has he been here _this whole time?_ "

"Not _entirely_ , I don't think he was here the first night," she shrugged looking out the window and smirked hearing Caroline's squeal of delight.

"I can't believe you've been holding out on me like this! So when I came to pick you up before…" Care drawled out and reversed the car heading for the restaurant when she didn't answer. "Wow Bonnie, good for you – I had no idea. I mean I assumed he had stayed for a few late nights but I didn't think he was living with you."

"He's not-"

"Honestly I should have known, you've been together at the Salvatore house for months before you came back it's probably nothing out of the ordinary."

"It is – it's still weird, and he's not _living_ with me he's just… staying temporarily."

"Sure," Caroline said humoring her, "and where has he been sleeping?"

"In… a bed," Bonnie responded vaguely, pulling her sleeves down to cover her hands.

"Huh, I seem to recall your Gram's house consisting of two beds; the one you stayed in, and hers. Where do you two fall into place with that?"

Tilting her head in Caroline's direction she met her gaze with one of innocence and curiosity, a look she's come to know is a mask for when she already knows the answer. "You just want me to say it."

"I do, that's the whole point," she vocalized, "you don't have to skate around the topic and misdirect anymore, the secret's out – finally. And now you can gossip with your best friends about the boy you're crushing on and tell us all about him and you can be _honest_ with us. You'll feel so great after."

"That's not the emotion I'm anticipating."

"What is?"

"Nauseous, maybe traumatized."

"I don't plan on holding back on the questionnaire since there are things I just have to know so that's pretty justifiable for the waves of apprehension, but it's all going to be in good fun!"

"And what about Elena, you said she hasn't been the most encouraging about this."

"She'll come around," Caroline brushed off spiking her fear up a few notches.

"Well what's she been saying?"

"I don't want to make her come off worse by speaking for her so you should just ask Elena about it when we get there, which should be in about a minute."

"It can't be worse than what I'm picturing," Bonnie said holding out hope that her best friend hasn't been bashing her and the choices she's made to all of their friends.

"I got your back," she smiled over her shoulder turning into the parking lot and the statement felt like a blanket cooling her skin and soothing her scorched mind, stepping out of the car and heading for the small Italian restaurant.

Not seeing Elena yet they chose to eat in the quaint fenced-in gardened area outside and hadn't been there for longer than thirty seconds before their other friend appeared and encased her in a hug. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No we just got here."

"Okay good," she smiled walking around them to sit in one of the three chairs and faced her head on, "so let's hear it."

"Already, don't we want to check the menu's or order food first?"

"We can multitask."

"Where do you even want me to start?"

"How about when you didn't make it home with Damon because Kai shot you with an arrow; let's start there." Bonnie shifted her eyes to Caroline who was also staring at Elena with eyebrows raised. "Take us down memory lane with you."

Watching the only other couple that was eating outside stand to leave the waitress made her way over to them to give them menu's and take their drink orders, all darting out the door at the same time leaving Bonnie alone with her closest confidants peering into her soul.

"After Damon left I shut Kai out completely; going through the next week without any hope that I'd ever make it out of that place alive. I stopped eating, I couldn't sleep for more than an hour or two at a time, and whenever I did I had terrifying nightmares I'd scream awake from. I wouldn't stay in the same room with him for more than a couple of minutes and the loneliness of having no one to talk to – starting to believe I might not ever enjoy anyone's company again – broke me down until I didn't care what happened to me anymore."

"Bon," Caroline said crestfallen and a sharpness twisted like a knife through her ribs, hearing her own voice sounding so despairing. Pausing briefly when she spotted the waitress they all ordered their usual meal when they come here and thanked her for the drinks, both looking back with their full attention trained on her.

"It got pretty bad and I stopped sleeping, that's around when Kai would find me in the middle of the night to make me eat something and tell me about the night terrors he used to get when he was a kid because his dad put a spell on him to try and toughen him up. He swore that being in the same room with someone could help bury the dark dreams and one of the times I was awake with my eyes closed I ended up in his bed and slept with him. _Slept_ being the key word – don't twist that," she said through squinted eyes pointing at them both, "after that the only way I could sleep through the night without waking up in hysterics was to have him beside me to know I wasn't alone, even if we were the only two people stuck in an eternal Spring day in 1994. I still didn't want to be around him but the feeling of isolation was too much to bear so without meaning or wishing to I got to know more about Kai and how he ended up the way he did. He was an open book about everything; his childhood, the way his dad is, how he felt and what he thought when he was growing up, what led him to that day – all of it. Nothing can mask over what he did but I got to know Kai as a person, better than some people I've known since we were kids. I started to empathize with him and against my best efforts was able to see past the guy I thought he was the first day when I threatened to kill him into someone more profound. Instead of bringing me down he was the voice of reason reminding me there's always another way of successfully doing something and rejuvenating me with faith that I was strong enough to still make it out of there alive."

"And that's when you realized you liked him," Caroline smiled and she snorted.

"Not even close, but that's when I started to believe he wasn't some evil and deranged killer I was imprisoned with but rather a damaged person with a scarred past. No, I think when it sunk in I might have feelings other than disdain towards him was when he got sick."

"When was that?" Elena asked.

"Whenever Damon went to Joshua, I presume. Kai started getting violent night terrors again so I tried to help one time by using a spell to cast the dream away and I accidentally pulled myself into it."

"You can do that? What did you see?" Caroline said at lightning speed and Bonnie's eyes shifted off to the side seeing a slash-mark slice his back followed by a howl of torment.

"A memory of him and his dad when he was a teenager; it was awful. After that he got a fever – something apparently he's never done the whole time he was there – which progressed to him being delirious and hallucinating. I did another dream jump and fix things and found myself face to illusory face with Joshua who told me the plan he had to execute his son. It wasn't until that instant that I decided I was going to bring Kai back with me, that I wanted to, and when I tried to get us out of there his father's magic pushed against mine and I accidentally killed him… again. I was the opposite of how I felt the first time I magically threw a pic-axe into his chest without a second thought, and when he finally came to I realized I cared about him. Before we could make a second attempt home Joshua had managed to possess Kai and drained all of my magic except for what I would need for the trip back. His dad admitted that he couldn't murder him until I was gone because I was supposedly Kai's strength that he was using to fight off his attack. I couldn't… I mean have you ever sat down and had a conversation with Joshua Parker? Because you would want to do exactly what he said not to do too."

"How did you do it? Damon came back yammering that the plan didn't work but he never specified _how_ – just that the coven leader said the Bennett witch had something to do with it."

"I had _everything_ to do with it," Bonnie smiled replaying the conversation they had while they were in the cave, the moment she could have taken left because of fear and never gotten as close as her and Kai are now. "Joshua used a spell to trap Kai inside his best and worst memories so I used my same one from last time that seemed to work out so well for me and dream jumped into Kai's mind; fishing around his life and seeing firsthand what he experienced until I found him and brought him back."

"You went up against a leader of a coven and kicked his ass," Caroline beamed as the waitress came through the door with their plates of food, all diving in and taking a short break from the story.

"And then after that we were able to make it back home _almost_ without any fatal injuries but Kai's protection spell against his father's counteracting spell caused him to come back sickly, and you know the rest from there."

" _Hardly_ ," Caroline pressed, "but we'll get to that in a minute since you're forgetting to give us the key details."

"Like what?"

"Like the sex," she said with a wave of her hand like it was obvious, "when did _girl likes boy_ turn into _girl sleeps with boy_ ; was it before his dad showed up?"

"No it was after, it was… Thanksgiving," Bonnie admitted through a pained expression and both friends erupted. "So it was only _a couple of days_ before I came back!"

"And have you been making up for lost time?" Caroline snickered.

"That's a hefty secret to keep from us for this long."

"I was afraid of what you'd think, or how you'd react; I know the label he has branded on him."

"Someone unpredictable and impulsive," Elena summed up, hearing the judgment in her tone.

"Sounds like someone else we all know," Care chimed in and bumped her elbow with Elena's; "some of us even _loved_ him."

"It's hard to throw a jab at me over something I don't remember," Elena smiled back, "or can't even imagine. Damon's whole persona is menacing but when it came down to it I'm fairly certain he would never harm me; can you say the same about Kai?"

Drawing in her eyebrows her peripheral caught Care's sharp glare at their friend and Bonnie caught a flash of an arrow piercing through her chest, the look of rage on Kai's face when her eye-line lifted to across the cave. Reaching out to take a bite of the chicken parmesan memories started to resurface of all the times Kai's gone out of his way not to put her in danger and paused on an equally enraged face in Gram's kitchen when he wanted to know if she believed that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Do you mean physically, or mentally; because I know the answer to one of them."

Smirking down at her plate Caroline twirled the spaghetti up onto the fork taking a large bite to change her expression and sliced one of the meatballs in half. Shifting right Bonnie and Elena both stared each other with the goal of reading their friends mind and her opponent seemed to be wearing the same perplexed expression.

"I don't want to be the one to give you a hard time about this, he's a good looking guy who seems to be one hell of a charmer but I just don't know if he's right for you."

"Why?"

"Because… you deserve better; you should be with someone whose past doesn't consist of murdering family members or spending almost twenty years in an isolated prison."

"Yeah but where am I going to find someone like that?" Bonnie brushed off as Care snorted into her glass of water.

"Oh Kai's sarcasm's already brushing off on you."

"Save me," Bonnie chuckled lightly looking back to Elena, "but you don't need to save me from _him;_ I've been dealing Kai him for almost a year now and I'm doing okay so far. I wish more than anything you could have some sort of brain-blast and remember how much you felt for Damon because it would make this whole conversation that much easier. I've never been interested in the so-called ' _bad boy'_ before but I've seen you fight against your desire for him since the Salvatore's first blew into our lives sophomore year. Even while you were with Stefan and blatantly happily in love with him, there was still something lingering in the back of your mind like a mini atomic bomb going off whenever you found yourself alone with the other brother. Even with Stefan going Ripper and spending all of your time alone with Damon getting closer you refused to accept what you felt was real because you believed it was wrong, so you buried it until the world threw a curveball and you were forced to come out with the truth. As my unfortunate luck would have it I seem to find myself going through something similar – not as intensely, but there are still a few parallels so I'm _hoping_ if you can't reflect back on those moments yourself maybe you can take my word on it and try to see where I'm coming from."

"Yeah that sounds eerily identical to what you went through," Care commented through a mouthful of meatball.

"But the reason I can't think back to it is because _Kai_ erased all of my memories of being in love with Damon and kept in all of the terrible things he's done giving him a very one-sided outlook. Keep trying to convince me though I'll stay open minded, tell me a nice memory you've had with him."

"The bracelet!" Caroline chirped pointing towards her, "You have to show her she'll love it and I _need_ to hear the story."

Staring wide-eyed from one friend to the other Bonnie gripped the sleeves of the jacket anticipating this moment with dread in her gut and shrugged off the material, keeping her right hand tucked under the table holding out her left for the both of them to see.

"That is beautiful," Elena said in awe pulling her wrist to get a closer look, "are these diamonds? Well this is _some_ gift, curious to know what led up to this."

"That's what I said! Okay start with when you got back to the hotel after the Masquerade."

"We're really doing this?" Bonnie inquired and their eager expressions sufficed as an answer, puffing out a loud sound. "Okay so when we got back I had to use magic to fix him up because he had a broken wrist, bad neck wound, and a dislocated shoulder. I was aiming to make him feel better so I cooked some eggs and had him shower to get warm and was just sitting on the bed talking and then I started daydreaming thinking of how I would feel if I didn't get to the room in time and Stefan had drained him and I started freaking out. I replayed all of the good times I've had since I met him and the ways he's been there for me and I… acted on my surge of appreciation."

"Ugh, you got to sleep with someone while in Paris!" Caroline huffed hitting the edge of the table with her palm, "sure it wasn't a French guy but that _still counts_ to cross off the bucket list."

"Was it sweet and romantic like in our fantasies?"

"You could say that," Bonnie smiled shyly feeling her face heat up, "there was a great view of the Eiffel Tower from our balcony."

Lifting her gaze up from the table a pair of agape expressions stared back at her, the girls jaws practically on the ground as they slowly spread into wide grins.

"You _devil._ "

"You little minx."

"You're really making me sad that I'm not also enjoying the finer things in life; like _sex in Paris._ But you were still there when I called which means you spent an extra day."

"Yes," she confirmed not able to control the smile, "that was a good day that started out in front of the most beautiful place in the city. Kai said we had to wait until that night to go inside and I wanted to do other things in the day too so I agreed and we ended up going to _Ile St. Louis_ where a heaping of stores are, including the bridge with all of the locks on it."

"Did you both put one on?"

"We did."

"Well that's romantic," Caroline emphasized leaning over to Elena, "and a sign of commitment."

"Yeah Kai locked his on and swung around the other side pretending to fall backwards into the river, it was really special." Sputtering out bouts of laughter Bonnie took their distracted state and lifted her right hand from her lap scooping a mouthful of food into her mouth before they could see her hand and shoved it back under the table. "When it was dark we walked back and I went up every floor of the Tower all the way up to the top. When we made it down to the second floor I was wondering what the deal was for why it was so important to see the city at night – which was breathtaking – and then the fireworks started up. It was… amazing, something I've never experienced before."

"Tell me there was a kiss to drive it home," Care pleaded and Bonnie bit her bottom lip, "two points for the boy from the prison world."

"Yeah I have to admit that's a really great story, definitely worthy of a diamond bracelet."

"I can't think that they're diamonds or else I'll never be able to wear it."

"Did you see him buy it at some point when you were shopping?"

"No, it was actually when we were at a different spot before the Masquerade. It's… I was fascinated with this piece of jewelry when we were looking around at everything in each store we passed but I didn't think he was paying attention."

"Awh he got it because he knew you liked it, that's a smart way to get a gift someone really wants. I wonder if the bracelet's what made him plan out that whole rendezvous."

Bonnie's eyes snapped over to Caroline's, the thought never coming to mind before now and tried to shake it out of her mind as quick as it fluttered through. "I doubt it; Kai doesn't think that far in advance over things that aren't revolved around him."

"Ooh, is this a segway into what happened last night; maybe a little rough and tumble in the sheets to work off that tension?"

"If you count tossing and turning in aggravation while Kai slept on the couch then absolutely."

"You guys didn't talk?"

"He talked, I yelled, and then I showed him the door." The contrastive expressions puzzled her. "What?"

"What did you say?"

"That he's a self-absorbed prick who only did that to spite me, or something along those lines."

"You think Kai kissed you to embarrass you?" Elena wondered.

"I did; I don't know what to think right now."

"Well what did he tell you?" she pressed farther and Bonnie fought against downplaying the encounter or evading it altogether, looking at them both patiently waiting.

"He said he did it so I didn't have to," she said with a shake of her head, " _ripping off the Band-Aid."_

Startled by the waitress suddenly by her side she took away the dinner plates and put down their dessert order, disappearing back through the main door. Petrified to raise her right hand anticipating they would have some type of jewelry radar she picked up the fork and sliced into the strawberry cheesecake with her non-dominant hand, the whole process throwing her slightly off balance.

"You know that might not be completely false. I was talking to Kai before he walked over to you and he was saying you were afraid to tell all of us because of what we'd say. He seemed pretty resilient on the fact that everyone knowing will more than likely make things harder for him but he still went through with it. You did want us to know, right?"

"Yeah."

"But you didn't really want to _tell_ us," Care prompted and Bonnie's eyes narrowed, a sense of de ja vu overcoming her. "Sounds like he might have helped you out a little bit; now all of us are in on the secret without the painful process of explaining it every time."

"So does this new budding friendship you and Kai seem to be having entail thinking like each other too?"

"Really Care, it was Bonnie's decision when she wanted to tell anyone and who those people may be. Maybe kissing Kai three feet away from Jeremy wasn't part of the plan and rightfully feels some resentment over it."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," she said nonchalantly taking a large bite of her piece of chocolate cake.

"You say the words and yet I feel like you aren't agreeing with me," Elena remarked and Caroline responded with another bite of food. "Can't you see where we're coming from with this?"

"Sure, can you see where I'm coming from?" Caroline responded briskly, looking from Elena to Bonnie and keeping her eyes trained on her until she faltered first.

"Why are you on his side?"

"I'm not," she tittered lightheartedly, "the reason I'm saying all of this is because I'm thinking about _you._ I just think you should hear out what Kai has to say about it before making any rash decisions; like kicking him out of your room, I mean seriously?"

"She should have kicked him out of the house."

"Is that what you would have done after someone you liked swooped in and gave you a New Year's kiss?"

Elena's steely expression cracked and her grin spread wide, looking between the two of them. "No I don't think my night would have ended that way."

" _Certainly_ would not have ended with the guy on the couch," Care said through an inhale gazing off into the distance and Bonnie let out an incredulous sound. "Did he sound remorseful at all about it or did he not care?"

"Well Kai isn't remorseful about anything, so, he didn't apologize over it if that's what you mean. He wasn't a jerk though either, he was just trying to get me to see his reasoning and I didn't want to so I had to remove him from the room before I changed my mind."

"Ooh," they both said at the same time in understanding with coy smiles.

"I get it now; all pent up alone with him in your bedroom… got'cha."

"Yeah I couldn't handle that," Bonnie chuckled, "and I had my share of drinks so it was going to escalate one way or another, better not risk it."

"A New Year's Eve kiss is a great way to bring in 2013, but New Year's _sex…"_

"Oh my God, Caroline," Elena commented, "these are details that I don't need to know about you. Why are you so accepting of the person we don't even know and was locked away for almost our entire lifespan because he _killed his family?"_

"I like him; he's like a mix-breed of Damon's sarcasm and easygoing outlook with Stefan's intelligence… and he's a witch, it's a fun combination. And it's sad to say but none of us at this table or within our group of friends is innocent of taking someone's life, it's the world we live in."

"It still doesn't make it right, and he's got Damon's recklessness down pat too," she added.

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure Kai cares about her more than either one of them," Care quipped taking them both by surprise, "those impulsive bad-boys do tend to make the biggest splash."

"Why – why would you say that?" Bonnie tripped over her words, "you haven't even been around us that much."

"True, but I pay attention when I do," Caroline responded that sent a chill up her spine, "and Kai isn't the most subtle guy in the room."

"I can attest to that," Elena agreed finishing the rest of her yogurt parfait, "you've been brought up in the two or three brief conversations we've had, but I don't need to talk to him to see how much he flirts with you."

"Maybe he's being overly affectionate to make up for lost time," her friend on the left pondered and glanced right to the other one nodding. "Speaking of…"

"Don't start."

"He was out of the game for _a while_."

"Please…"

"Are you avoiding the topic because of how good he is or how bad?" she asked scrutinizing Bonnie's expression who was putting her best effort into not letting her pick up on anything.

"It's just _personal_."

"But it's only us," Care said gesturing between her and Elena, "who would we tell? We're all right here. I've gotten into some vivid encounters I've had and heard all about the Salvatore brothers and a story or two on Jeremy, just give me one juicy detail to hold onto from being denied of your sexcapades for this long but make it a good one."

Bonnie contemplated continuing to talk herself out of the topic or flat-out lie about some made up scenario between them, but there was also a taste of excitement running through her veins that she was finally able to openly admit to the things she's gotten herself into over the months with Kai and gossip about it. Caroline has always been upfront and shameless about her sexual conquests and Elena became more loose-lipped after she was turned but Bonnie has always been more reserved and truthfully didn't want to tell her friends intimate details about the little brother they grew up picking on. Kai is such a contrast against what her and Jer had in the past, his rawness and passion is like a drug to her already revved up system and the way he makes her feel left Bonnie on a high and craving more.

"I never noticed anything too out of the ordinary before Kai – maybe some instances of fingers tingling or lights blowing out in the middle of it – but being with a _witch_ … I mean I'm sure vampires have their own wild tricks behind closed doors but there is nothing like it. Everything's heightened and you can feel your energy connecting with theirs which sends sporadic shocks through your body resulting in objects flying around and the room crashing down around us."

"No way," Care said unconvinced.

"We broke the bed the first time," Bonnie admitted feeling the flutter twist in her core and both girls fell into a fit of hysteria.

"That might be the best thing I've ever heard."

"I think I may need a witch in my life," Elena vocalized through her laughter, "it would certainly spice things up. Although I don't know if I'd like the room I was in getting destroyed every time."

"Yeah after we got back Kai decided to clue me in on a protection spell that can shield the room so everything has stayed intact since then, but the first couple times…"

"You tore apart the Boarding house didn't you?" she asked with a knowing grin.

" _No,_ " Bonnie stressed and ran her fork across the empty plate, "just Damon's room and bathroom."

The next round of laughter was so contagious she joined in until her ribs hurt, getting sidetracked by the waitress coming out the door with their check in hand and waited as the three of them dug through their wallets and handed off their cards.

" _Bonnie!_ " Caroline shrieked and grabbed her hand in mid-air between them yanking it towards her, "what the hell is this?"

Gasping and attempting to yank back unsuccessfully her grip tightened and thrust her arm across the table to Elena. "Bon…"

"It's not what you think – it's really not. It's because it's Celtic like his chain and I like the designs of them and that's the only reason why he bought it."

"He bought you a ring – wait are there diamonds on this?" Elena asked tugging her middle finger closer. "Holy crap; did Tyler ever get you a ring?"

"Nope, what about Stefan?"

"He gave me a beautiful necklace that one time that was actually to repel vampire's compulsion," she reflected back on, "but that's about it."

"When did he buy this?"

"…Paris," Bonnie forced out.

"I'm sorry Bon but you must be a _tigress_ in the sheets," Caroline vocalized finding amusement in Elena's reaction, "she got _two_ fancy pieces of jewelry covered in diamonds – and one is a ring! Tell me I'm wrong, unless…"

"What?" she asked quickly seeing Care momentarily drift into a deep thought.

"Unless he's trying to buy your love," Elena chortled and the mention of the ' _L-word_ ' sent the blood rushing upwards making her lightheaded.

"Or something like that," she added with a smile, "we know Kai was a sociopath before all of this went down when you arrived on his deserted island, but do you think he still is since the merge happened?"

Bonnie mulled over the major changes she's seen in both Kai's personality and the way he views things, going back to the _Sociopath Checklist_ she created from Google the first opportunity she got and went down the list. More or less every personality trait he possesses are still waving up high like a flag on a windy day – narcissistic, charming, manipulative, intelligent, impulsive, possessive, and a sexual deviant – but the rare traits that didn't make the cut is what drives Bonnie's faith that the label doesn't fit the man anymore.

Where Kai's shallow emotions used to drive her insane from never being able to read him, the bursts of unfiltered word-vomit he spills all over her unsuspecting mind has compelled Bonnie to miss the days his words couldn't cut her like a knife and make her want to tell him her every thought. His self-serving tendencies would commonly result in cold calculative moves with willingness to put anyone in harm's way for his own personal gain, but Bonnie has yet to see him attack anyone since the merge other than the selected times he's fought people off defensively.

The one distinguishing quality that's had a major influence on him that was never there prior is the single factor that confirms her belief; his ability to feel empathy. Sympathizing with others is an attribute Kai has brazenly acknowledged he was not cursed with and therefore couldn't truly connect and understand someone, or more importantly the consequences of his actions. The person Bonnie has gotten to know in such an intense and heartfelt way has given her rare insight into Kai's psyche and witnessed up close the shifts he's undergone and evolved from in such a short span of time.

"I don't," Bonnie revealed out loud – more to herself than either of her friends who took on their own unique expressions; one of uncertainty while the other's twinkling with delight.

"Well that puts a monkey wrench in Damon and Jeremy's arguments," Care commented lightening the fog of silence, leaning over to jab Elena in the side with her finger, "yours too."

"I'm not trying to _argue_ you know I'm on your side Bonnie, always, I just want you to be safe and with someone who will keep you that way and not end up as a potential threat putting you at risk. I'm looking out for you and I'm being more cautious than _others_ because history tends to repeat itself with violent people and I don't want you getting caught in the crosshairs. Kai doesn't seem like the type of person who puts anyone before himself, and if Jer was right about any of the things he said last night it was that anyone that's gotten close to him has regretted it."

"Yeah he screwed over a lot of people in his life, I'm fully aware, but I don't want to base my judgments off of what Kai has done to other people. He's already pushed my buttons and gotten under my skin just fine without adding in others experiences."

"If we all reflected back on every awful thing the men in our lives has done we would die of old age at this table," Caroline wisecracked relieving the simmering friction swirling around and the waitress gave them back their cards heading back inside with a final goodbye.

"And I can't get caught up in that I have to be at the hospital in an hour for my shift," Elena joked as they all rounded up their stuff and made their way back over to the parking lot. "Thank you for deciding to tell us about the two of you, I want whatever makes you happy and if Kai is it than I'll try to push my thoughts aside and make an effort to get to know him for you – because there is no way you're going to have someone significant in your life without the two of us being in theirs as well."

Feeling her genuine smile spread Bonnie leaned in giving Elena a tight hug and breathed out a sound of relief when she slid into the passenger seat, the lunch date not as traumatizing as she had anticipated.

"So that wasn't so bad, right?" Caroline asked reading her mind and reversing the car.

"I was just thinking the same thing but I know it was because you were too; there was no way that would have gone as smoothly as it did if it was just the two of us butting heads."

"Pleased I could be of service," she said cheerfully, "it's a rare treat when you're the one calling in favors."

"I prefer to handle things on my own," Bonnie shrugged being used to it by now and peered out the window.

"So how's your handle on Kai going?"

"The equivalent to caging a dragon with a butterfly net," she responded wryly provoking a chuckle out of Care.

"Sounds enthralling."

"It has its moments."

"How are things between you right now?"

"I don't know I haven't talked to him since last night, he was in the shower when I left."

"I still can't get over that he's been living with you."

"He's _not_ -"

"Oh but he is," Caroline sing-songed, "which reminds me; I know you've had a lot to deal with over the last year but school's starting back up in a week, do you think you're going to reenroll?"

"I hate that Whitmore takes off almost all of December but doesn't give up anything after the New Year. I don't know though I honestly haven't even thought about it, I've gotten used to not having to go to class and it's been great."

"I know but you already finished your freshman year and you're so smart you'll have no problem catching up on your credits. And we can all room together again! Or we can get adjoining rooms and you can stay there when you don't feel like being at your Gram's, and let's not forget you don't have to put on an act in front of us with Kai anymore so we can all hang out and it won't be weird."

"It will still be strange," Bonnie disagreed, "you would want to hang out with him?"

"Why not?" she commented raising her shoulders in a noncommittal gesture. "Why, would you not want me to?"

"No it's not that, I just – I _really_ didn't expect you to be so accepting since you've had Damon in your ear this whole time and now Elena's been on the fence."

"Like I said before, I trust your judgment; and also like you I make up my mind about things on my own time and I've seen Kai go out of his way for me when my mom was sick and what he did in Paris – and he doesn't even know me. But because of how much he cares about you he made your problems his to try and help, and that sounds like a pretty selfless act that the sociopath I've heard war stories about would never do." Caroline's words sunk in deep as they turned onto the street and stayed silent as it rang through her ears until the car stopped. "All I'm saying is – don't listen to anyone, don't even listen to me – you're young, and alive, and happy, and you need to do whatever it takes to hold onto that."

"Okay," Bonnie said feeling like she was swearing an oath, "I will."

Reaching over to squeeze her tight and kiss her cheek Care waved as she went up the walkway looking more ecstatic than when she picked her up, smiling from the distraction her friends put her through and halted in front of the door. Bonnie had spent so much time talking _about_ Kai over the last hour that she put no thought into what she was going to _say_ to him when she got back home. The tension she felt from last night had all but evaporated and all that was left was Elena and Caroline's opposing points, both sounding equally justifiable and infuriating. Taking a steady breath to shake her nerves Bonnie lifted her head and strode through the front door in search of the guy camped out somewhere inside.


	28. Chapter 28

The first thing Bonnie noticed stepping inside the house was the deafening noiselessness reverberating back at her, making her way towards the back looking over to the living room and popping her head in the kitchen before turning into the bedroom. Kai was out cold sprawled across the bed with his legs on his side and his torso on hers, face deep in her pillow. The charcoal black, white, and grey static design on his sweatpants was one of her all-time favorites that came with the matching sleeveless hoodie that he bought in Paris and trailed up his toned back, her feet propelling forward until she was beside the bed. The piercing white noise of her friend's voices became less blaring until all Bonnie could hear was his steady breathing, looking over his peaceful state and feeling an unprovoked need to suddenly be closer.

Kicking off her heels and crawling quietly to not stir him Bonnie bumped her forearm against his and flinched at how cold he was, moving without a conscious thought and laying her front side flat against his back resting her cheek just below the base of his neck. Feeling the jolt of his body waking him through her chest Kai breathed in sharply and heard the steady exhale when she ran her hands down either side of his ribs, the untamed thoughts arising of wanting to touch every part of him. Curling her fingertips her nails trailed back up cuddling in closer at his shiver listening to the deep sound of content.

"Bon _,_ " Kai mumbled out so gravelly it was virtually inaudible and those vibrations as well as knowing it was her while he was still half-asleep sent a flutter through her stomach.

"Hey."

"Sorry, I was tired."

"Didn't sleep much?"

"Mm."

"I thought you said you didn't have any troubles dozing off when you weren't having nightmares."

"Used to."

"Well I've only been gone an hour, I'll come back later and wake you so you can have a little longer."

"S'okay," Kai slurred, "I'm up."

"Go back to sleep, I did my outdoor deed for the day so I'll still be here."

"But I want to talk to you," he let out slowly like he was concentrating hard on what was saying. "Do you still hate me?"

"Pretty sure if I didn't feel that way towards you in the prison world than I never could," Bonnie said lightly and didn't like that she couldn't see Kai's face to read his expressions, taking in his non-response, "but I don't think I'm still mad at you anymore; you can blame Caroline."

"She's the man," he expressed raising his voice an octave higher in excitement, lifting his head and looking over his left shoulder through barely opened lids, "hi."

"Hi."

"It's really difficult to spoon you when I can't bend my arms around to reach you."

"Yeah but it's so easy for me to do it to you," Bonnie counteracted gliding her hands down starting at his biceps and their fingers interlaced when her palm slid over the top of his, pulling them in closer to his face and turned his head sharply to the right.

"You're wearing the ring," Kai hummed and she could hear the words through a smile.

"Bracelet too," she wiggled her left wrist to make it shake. "Yep, they didn't go by unnoticed."

"How'd she like 'em?"

"Elena was there too, and let's just say if you bought them one too I don't think they'd be able to turn it down."

Kai's back shook with laughter resting his lips against her fingers as he spoke. "Ooh the both of them, that must have been a fun lunch. So does this mean you believe me now?"

"I-" Bonnie began, playing through so many intercrossing thoughts of hers, Caroline's, and Elena's that she was too tongue-tied to explain, opting for the short answer of saying what she truly felt. "Yes, but you still could have given me a warning."

"What changed your mind?"

"I told you I needed the night to think things over and let off some steam."

"You said I should blame Caroline."

"Yeah I think you're around her too much because you two were speaking _verbatim_ – I'm talking word for word."

"Oh so you can be convinced by her and not me."

"It was more like you're a tag team and there's just me fighting alone in my corner, some things are bound to stick."

"Like what?"

"Mm that you _may_ not have done that just to spite me and gave my feelings more consideration than I thought," she pondered, "and something about me overreacting."

Shifting his body to the right Bonnie rolled off his back letting out a squeal and was pulled towards him as he turned to lie on his side. Smiling at his eyes still closed his arm curled around her waist bringing her into his chest and she slid her arm underneath his to rub his back. Humming out a sound of being at ease Kai had her wrapped up so snug she was having a hard time breathing and gasped out a puff of air, the arms around her loosening slightly. Nuzzling into the crook of her neck Bonnie giggled at the contact of his rough facial hair against her sensitive skin, wiggling around at the ticklish sensation. Leaning back to rest his forehead on hers Kai's lids were still firmly covering his luminous irises and she felt a sharp pang in her stomach looking over his exhausted features knowing she is the reason why he's feeling this way.

"How was lunch?" he asked hoarsely seemingly trying to keep himself awake.

"It was good."

"No fights breaking out in the middle of a restaurant?"

"Astonishing, isn't it?" Bonnie pepped and the corner of his lip curved, "no, it actually went better than I expected. Care's a pure-hearted Saint that none of us deserve, and Elena… well she's stuck in two opposing mindsets; one that sees where I'm coming from, and the other that's a little hypocritical and lost because she doesn't remember she was disgustingly in love with Damon who has a similar background as you."

"Hm, I didn't anticipate that coming back to bite me in that ass quite so soon."

"Life is funny like that."

"To be fair I didn't erase _every_ good memory Elena ever had with him, just the significant ones. I needed her to forget she loved him but I didn't wipe out enough to make her not care about him anymore, your friend did that all on her own."

"Yeah but if you change enough of the good then it's hard to focus on anything else."

"Still her choice, all I did was take out her blind devotion for the guy and she put the rest in motion."

"So you think there's a piece of Elena that still knows Damon meant something to her? Because," Bonnie paused, reflecting back on the entirety of his and Elena's relationship before they got together and her persistence to block out any acknowledgment of how she felt about him. "That would actually make sense."

"Mhmmm."

Tucking that nugget of information away for later use Bonnie reverted back to the topic at hand. "So was your plan always to kiss me at midnight?"

"It was the main one," he grinned sleepily, "didn't intend on having little Gilbert behind me but it seemed if I didn't act quickly he would have stolen my scheme out from under me."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"He was almost as close to you as I am now," Kai murmured and she moved her limbs around showcasing the extreme close contact.

"That's not true."

"Well he _was_ going to kiss you – trust me, I know the look."

"I had just gotten finished telling him that we had grown apart and weren't getting back together."

"It's not that easy to let you just walk away," he remarked making Bonnie's eyes widen and saw a small sliver of blue appear through his barely opened lids. "He wasn't going to give up."

"And how are you so sure?" she asked in a tone of both innocence and allure, his full pupils and irises coming into view and slid his arm down her backside hiking her knee up to his hip.

"Once someone's been with you it's next to impossible to let you go."

Bonnie's heart tightened and ached at the declaration, the unguarded and open side of Kai half-asleep awakening something within her and hooked her knee around his leg pulling backwards until she was on her back with his weight lying on top of her. Letting out a quick exhale her thighs spread wider having him fall in between and the high-wasted flowy layers of the dress gave him easy access to slide his hand underneath up past her hip. Bonnie's right arm twisted behind his neck as his other hand slid over her right palm and squeezed, still able to send an electric charge through her system in his state of mind and let out a soft sound of rapture. Lifting their hands off the mattress she observed Kai's eyes flicker over to the left and was relishing what was in front of him.

"I think Elena almost popped a blood vessel when she saw this, but Care spotted it first."

"She's a quick one; did they rag on you about it?"

"Yes, and then you add in the other expensive gift from Paris and I was just an open target for all of the innuendos and speculations."

"They don't know what you bought me, do they?"

"Oh like I was about to walk through that trap-door," Bonnie scoffed, "I need to handle things one obstacle at a time."

"And last night's hurdle is out of the way?" he inquired in a serious tone looking over her face.

"The main reason why I was so upset was because I wanted to control how they found out and filter what I told them and you threw a grenade in my plan as you so willingly enjoy doing. And then I started to think the worst and it spiraled until I was positive you were doing it just to be cocky."

"I promise, I thought I was helping," Kai stated lifting the corner of his mouth, the smile not meeting his eyes and looked over to the purple crescent bruise from his eyebrow to his cheekbone, playing back the impact of Jer's fist connecting with his face.

"I believe you."

Noting the eyes staring back at her spark to life Kai's teeth flashed before brushing his lips against hers, the tenderness from his gentle touches mixed with just waking up burning a hole in Bonnie's core craving it more deeply. The arm around his neck pulled him in closer and slid her fingers through his locks gripping at the roots, lifting her head off the pillow and tilting to the side as he groaned in response. Wrapping her calf's above his hips Kai grinded into her slowly from the change in position and she clenched down feeling his hard shaft pressed up against her thin pair of underwear through the sweatpants, the heavy pressure against her seeming more so than usual. Resting their entwined hands on the pillow overhead Bonnie kept her eyes shut as he trailed across her jaw and nudged her head turning her face into his bicep as he continued down the side of her neck.

Bonnie felt something within her unwind relaxing the rest of her body with a deep exhale and Kai's muscles tensed instantaneously after including his grip that sent another hefty surge through her fingertips, rejuvenating every part of her. Breathing out a quiet moan with the need of getting closer her hand was beginning to tug him back up when he let go and ducked out of sight, glancing down the middle of her dress at Kai pulling the flimsy material of lace down her legs and dipped his head underneath the layers of purple; the feel of his mouth gliding up her inner-thigh without a way to see him sending a sensation of being untamed over her. A guttural noise escaped Bonnie's lips when the rough facial hair hit her all at once, his teeth grazing her folds causing her hips to churn before his tongue slid through igniting every fiber in her being.

Unable to catch her breath she could hear the soft pants that grew more powerful against every stroke of his tongue and grunted when two fingers pushed deep inside without warning. Bonnie's lower abdomen fluttered and clenched against his fingers, ripples of pleasure shooting up her spine when his tongue flicked over her clit until she was gasping and gripped the sheets with one hand as the other held onto the headboard controlling her movements. One sharp thrust of his fingers and she was trembling on impact, Kai's arm curling under her thigh to keep her anchored and let out breathless sounds of ecstasy as she shook with spasms until she came down. Bonnie's vision clouded over with black spots from the intensity and hadn't realized his face was now hovering in front of hers, tilting her forehead into the side of his neck.

"I like your dress."

"Mm I like you _half_ dressed," she mimicked his words from a week prior and smiled at his deep sound of humor.

"As opposed to fully clothed?" Kai repeated rubbing the pants fabric against her open sex and scratched her nails down his back making him jerk forward harder. "I'm accepting that as confirmation."

A flittered noise of delight rang through Bonnie's vocal cords at the playfulness that exudes off of him no matter what scenario he's found himself in, that level of comfort and closeness something she's yet to share before meeting the one person she was certain was going to be her archenemy. Kai's sleepy face grinned back at her and the knot that she's had in her chest since the split second she thought he was back to his-absorbed and inconsiderate ways loosened and dissipated, her heart feeling like it was physically unwinding from relief. Hooking her toes under the waistband Bonnie slid her feet over his butt dragging the sweatpants down with it and noticed he wasn't wearing boxers underneath, pulling him over to the side and rolling on top of him with the motion.

Wanting to catch him off guard like he so fondly enjoys doing to her she noticed the look of disorientation from being flipped onto his back and lifted up on her knees aligning them before slamming down forcefully. The husky expletive that grunted out of Kai had her muscles contracting and tightening around him, the ache of fullness overwhelming her shaking frame. Huffing out heavy breaths he leaned up pressing his chest against hers and reached around pulling the zipper down to where it ends just above the strap of velvet and ran his hands up Bonnie's back pulling the dress up and over her head. Linking one arm behind his head the other caressed his jaw moving up to lightly touch the bruise near his eye examining it and could feel Kai's penetrating gaze on her, arm's caging in around her waist and up her spine keeping her close.

Moving her legs to swing them around his back so she wasn't on her knees the change in angle caused her to sink down to the base and slumped forward fighting for breath an inch away from his ear. A dark rumbling began low in Kai's chest working its way up and protruding out of his throat through hard pants and leaned back overcome with triumph at him struggling to keep his composure. Teeth nipped and tugged at Bonnie's nipples having control of the way she arched into him and leaned too far back – jolting forward at the electrified bundle of nerves deep inside getting nudged and sending off a spark. Incapable of catching her breath Kai grabbed a handful of hair at the end of her skull tugging gently inclining her back and wrapped his arm across her shoulder blade locking his fingers around her shoulder. Rocking her hips Bonnie pushed her knees out grinding on top of him open-mouthed and gripped his biceps watching as the pools of black in his eyes expanded, snuffing out the light.

Bowing when Kai grasped her hair tighter her fingers made their way to the back of his head holding on for leverage and dropped her other hand on the bed behind her, Bonnie's heart feeling like it's been pushed up to her throat from how deep he felt inside her. Gliding his hands down to her hips the way she was keeping herself upright made her torso seem weightless which Kai used to his advantage, plunging her down off of him twice as fast hitting her most tender spot repetitively. The burning in her core was becoming white-hot and too intoxicating to keep within her, one single movement unraveling her at the seams. Choking on a screech of pleasure Bonnie propelled forward slamming his back off the mattress riding out her orgasm that nearly rolled into another when Kai followed close behind watching her come undone on top of him.

" _Yes_ ," Bonnie whispered feeling victorious once again at her special powers to take him down and was soon crying out the word when arms locked her against his chest and began driving upward at full force.

Everything around them was drowned out aside from Kai's low sounds of eroticism that has a direct line to the uncaged feline that prowls around within; Caroline's remark about her being a ' _tigress in bed_ ' making an unwarranted visit and a sharp laugh escaped her lips on a hard thrust.

"What?" he huffed out slowing down just enough to not shake the bed.

"I hate how well Care knows me," Bonnie murmured sealing her lips on his before he could respond and felt them turn up into a smile, curling his hands up and around the sides of her neck kissing her with vigor.

Rolling her hips into his she could swear her skin was sizzling from the waves of heat rolling off of her body and felt Kai's slightly cooler touch trailing down her spine and between her cheeks, his middle finger gliding between her wetness and back massaging her rear. Yanking back Bonnie's hand went up to the one that was still resting on the side of her neck peering down at a lust-induced gaze.

"Do you want to?" Kai enticed, still moving into her leisurely putting a pinch of pressure against her with his fingertip, the faint sensation triggering specific memories before they left the prison world and nodded, leaning back in. " _Say it._ "

Bonnie's eye's turned into slits piercing through his and he seemed all too amused for the current state of affair they're in, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head on the pillow highlighting the black eye. Flickers of her first time ever doing this starting playing through hearing Kai's confessions of how he wanted to make her feel until she craved it, vivid reminders of him coming through on those promises as she straddled him in Damon's bed. There was something about Kai that brought out a side of Bonnie she had never known was within her; a seductive temptress willing to submit her need for control and push past her boundaries if it feels right. A surge of confidence broke through her skittish thoughts steadying out her voice as she spoke.

"I want you to."

Breaking into a wide smile their clasped hands against her neck pulled Bonnie down leaving gentle kisses across her face and lips but the sweet approach just amplified the contrast she was soon going to endure and tightened up around him, her hands colliding with the pillow on either side of his head leaning up near his face.

"You're so tense," Kai murmured and she sighed clashing over what her body and mind wanted which meant simultaneously pushing away from the other.

"I need you to be more aggressive," Bonnie let out truthfully, an incredulous look passing over his features as his forehead scrunched revealing the deep worry line between his eyebrows.

Staring at her out of the corner of his eye he squinted slightly non-verbally asking if she was being serious, answering by steering his hand behind her back until he gripped her cheek and drove upward. Moaning at the contact his finger moved away to grip the other fistful of flesh and rocked her into his rhythm squeezing every time her pelvis connected with his, ducking his head to suck and bite her neck and shoulder with enough physical force to make her bellow out loud. Arching her back out from the abrupt sting in her neck Kai took the lead using her distraction to his benefit and moved his left hand sliding his middle fingertip into her tight non-entrance, Bonnie getting lightheaded as she tried to inhale short puffs of air.

Continuing his steady movements Kai gave her no time to focus on the foreign fullness entering her – now in two separate places – and held onto the back of her neck keeping her chest against his angling her for his next sexual onslaught. Straightening her arms the firm grip against her had Bonnie locked in his embrace and clawed restlessly at the surrounding areas around their shoulder and above his head, Kai's longest finger pushing as far as his other knuckles would allow and drove back into his touch; her body slackening around his when he thrust forward at the same time.

"Hmm I love that," Kai breathed out gravelly kissing back up her neck until their eyes met, feeling too languid to speak.

"Mm?"

"The way you give yourself over to me – it's so sexy, it's making me lose my mind," he chuckled and Bonnie moaned at the vibrations against every intimate part of her. "Does this feel good?"

"Yes," Bonnie whispered near his ear churning her thighs over his, his finger retreating almost all the way out before more pressure was immediately added. "What – wh –"

" _Shh_ don't think, go with whatever you're feeling."

The extra intensity was either his index or ring finger joining in and her limbs shook violently as he sent them in farther feeling like he was stretching her from head to toe. Quivering around him she could feel how quickly she was milking him sliding down his shaft with ease and a part of her brain shut off, instincts coming out of the shadows to stretch its legs and let out an overdrawn wail of euphoria up against his cheek; his ab muscles tightening and body shivering in a knee-jerk reaction. Kai turned his head catching her lips and kissed her with fervor; the intense and passionate heat melting her insides and bit down when his fingers protruded past the knuckles.

" _Oh God…_ " came stumbling out of Bonnie's mouth curling both hands behind his head and neck hugging him more snug.

"Do you want me to stop?" Shifting her body the tiniest bit, electrified sparks of pleasure shot out from her core tingling her fingers and toes with the promise of more and ground out a deep grumble of protest. "You're perfect."

Attempting to laugh at his humor the ripple of her stomach muscles contracting sent off a similar effect squeezing down at the base and grinding into Kai's hardness rubbing her front against his as she leaned back to meet his plunges. What felt like a dim candlelit flame when Bonnie walked in on him sleeping has progressed into an uncontrollable forest fire wiping down anything in its path including her last piece of conscious thought. Propelling back with force Kai heard her unspoken plea with clarity and lifted his knees up to plant his feet on the bed giving him sturdiness to drive forward without interruption, his fingers sliding in and out at the same pace stretching and pushing her over the edge until she was standing at the edge of the cliff ready to fall.

Metaphorically lifting one leg out over the vast precipice Bonnie's lids would only open enough to catch Kai's bared teeth and the animalistic persona brought out her own wild side, nails scratching from the side of his neck down his chest and over his ribs hearing the dangerous growl of dark capabilities. Another unyielding descent of his fingers with the provocative sounds spilling out of his lips caused her to believe for half a second that she had physically combusted; something too immense to stay locked away exploding out taking her down in its wake, not able to hear her own screams over the ringing in her ears.

The room blurred and Bonnie was suddenly flat on her back, taking a few needed extra seconds to piece together what just happened. Kai's arms and head were tucked over hers looking like he was shielding her face and his torso seemed more massive somehow, his shoulders looking wider covering both sides of her frame. Believing her heart would beat out of her chest from thrumming frantically she was astonished that she could still feel him so stiff, even more so when he began slowly moving into her again. Checking his expression hers altered seeing a twinge of pain cross over and ran her hands down his chest and stomach reaching around when he hissed and wrenched away, pulling her palm back with blood covering it.

"Kai you're bleeding!" Bonnie expressed in a high-pitched voice, pushing against him to lean back so she could see around him and her breath caught in her throat looking right at the shattered mirror.

"You broke through the protection shield," Kai vocalized groggily, "I mean _wow_ , that's impressive."

"Are you alright – did a lot of glass hit you?"

"I'm fine, I don't even feel it," he lied and she pursed her lips, "I don't _care_ enough to feel it."

Not able to have a decent angle to check the damage Bonnie pressed her palms all over until his sounds of discomfort answered her question and uttered a healing spell getting rid of every cut before another scar was added to his back. Humming Kai lifted his forehead placing it on hers and held onto the side of her neck with his right hand, running the thumb ring over her jaw as he rocked into her. The way he was able to move his body and roll into her starting at his chest down to where they're connected drove Bonnie insane with a sexual hunger that charged every part of her with an electric energy passing through like a current.

Even in her now extreme fatigued state something within her still responded to Kai; breathing in his ragged huffs and lifting the dead weight of her legs to curl them around his butt pushing him in deeper. With the tip of his nose resting on her cheek his searching gaze was inescapable as hers darted back and forth between his finding them too compelling to look away from, the dark intent etched in his expression a contrast against his impassioned approach. Bonnie loved discovering new aspects of the both of them – especially while they were in bed – and reflecting on what it could mean, learning for the first time how much she gets off on someone else taking dominance and not having to take charge or overthink her every action. From experience she's also seen Kai indulge in that carnal side of him making her thighs quake at just the thought but the part of him that she hadn't anticipated was his preferential approach to the softer, gentler end of the spectrum.

Being the misfit outcast his entire life Bonnie's pieced together that he has always tackled things in an emotionless and methodical manner, never giving off any form of tenderness resulting in no one reciprocating it either. When they're in the heat of the moment it's Kai's commanding assertiveness that gives her that extra push to feel connected to him in both mind and body, but she's just beginning to realize it may be exactly the opposite for him; possibly the only real time someone has showered him with affection and compassion. Bonnie's become accustomed to being fired up or in some form of apprehension around the guy but the times she's been able to drift away from that frazzled state and enjoy what's in front of her transcended his mood as well bringing out a sweeter and goofier personality.

Curling her arms arounds the back of his neck her hand slid into Kai's hair massaging his skull leaving soft kisses on his cheek and trailed down pecking both corners of his mouth, mimicking his small smile before delicately pulling his warmth to hers. Not rushing to push the kiss into second gear her tongue stayed planted where it was, instead leaving nibbles in between the slow drags passing over his lips and took note of his breathing getting heavier through his nose. Wrapping herself around him Bonnie could feel his heart beating as fast as a hummingbird and sighed feeling him rubbing up against her intimately, the comfortable leisureliness sheltering her from the rest of the world. Sliding her tongue across his teeth Kai groaned out through his open mouth into hers making her bones chatter and angled her head licking the roof of his mouth.

With limbs caging in around her Bonnie knew how close he was and rolled her hips to meet his being wary to not let her kissing tactic stray too far from light and sweet, the combination seemingly having an effect on Kai's dwindling composure. Pushing both arms underneath her Bonnie clung to his rigid frame moaning into his mouth when he pushed forward on a hard thrust and repeated the action half a dozen times squeezing her so tight she couldn't breathe. Clenching down hard on his last incline a broken sound escaped his throat before a stream of jagged and husky groans spilled out rocking into her and riding out his climax.

Kai's massive frame was flopped on top of her feeling twice as heavy and if it wasn't for his chest heaving or violent trembling she would have contemplated if she killed him, turning to his face puffing out against her neck. Kissing the crescent-shaped bruise dilated eyes opened to look back at her and curved one corner up. Dragging his lips across her skin they both stayed lost in each other for a few minutes helping bring the other back down from the clouds until Bonnie was able to see clearly again.

"I was hoping I could get you off one more time," Kai said cheekily and she huffed out a sound of disbelief.

"You know the usual is _one_ _time_ , right?"

"Well that doesn't make sense, then I'd never finish," he stated in a serious tone and she swatted at the side of his arm laughing.

"I told you – you're a deviant, no one should have that kind of stamina."

"I blame you," he muttered against her skin and Bonnie felt a thrill shoot out her fingers and toes at the thought that it could be _her_ that brings that side out of him, and not something his ex and past hookups got to experience.

Looking over his shoulder Kai mumbled something raising his hand and she peeked over as the shattered glass floated up from the bed and floorboards moving back to the empty space and reassembled into a solid piece before her eyes, sitting back in its place above the dresser. Rolling with one arm still under her Bonnie stayed plastered to his stomach as he flipped them and landed on her pillow struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I bet you want to sleep _now._ "

"So happy I didn't before," he commented tracing designs on her back soothing her into the same drained lull. "Thanks for waking me."

"Anytime," she smiled with a shake of her head and slowly pulled herself free curling her limbs around his torso too exhausted to move, Kai lifting to grab the covers near his legs and pulled them over her naked back.

Watching him do everything with closed eyes Bonnie's grin widened when he moved to kiss her face and she pulled back, trying again unsuccessfully followed by a baffled look. Opening one lid his teeth dazzled brightly seeing her leaning back and slid a hand into her hair propelling her into his mouth getting harassed with pecks all over her face from not letting him do one easily and laughed lightly hiding in the crook of his neck where he couldn't get her. Pressing her lips to his skin she could feel Kai's rapid pulse and ran the tip of her tongue up the drumming, his head tilting to the side giving her better access. Moving his fingers slowly in her hair the caresses were pulling her into a deep slumber and nuzzled into him closer exhaling deeply relaxing into him with it. Before she Bonnie could tell him that she was starting to feel tired she was already halfway into a vivid dream.

-x—x—x-

"What?" Bonnie mumbled with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth looking over to the doorway.

"I asked if you want to go out on a date tonight."

"Why?"

"Because I've counted off at least a dozen we've been on but you're still trying to tell me we haven't been on any, and then I thought maybe it's because I've never formally asked you, so…"

Kai leaned against the doorframe spinning his thumb ring with his index finger and grinned at the rare speechlessness that came over her as she turned to finish brushing her teeth walking over to him cautiously.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well I've already brought you to Paris so I can't really outshine the _wow factor_ I set for myself, so how about traditional?"

"Dinner?"

"And a movie," he nodded sticking his hands in his front pockets and leaning his back against the door so Bonnie could pass crossing the hall to her room.

"But it's already almost dinnertime."

"Are you hungry?" Kai asked already knowing the answer, "then let's go eat."

"You're serious," she snickered, "you really want to take me out on a date?"

"And have you aware that we're on one? Sure do."

Glancing over to him a flash of nervousness passed over her features and looked down at her clothes. "I would have to get ready first."

"Okay, I'll call a place and set up a reservation while you do – that is, if you accept my invitation."

Bonnie reached up rubbing her bare arms shifting her eyes away landing on the bed and darted quickly back up to him, her jitters bringing him an odd sense of joy. "Just dinner and a movie."

"No strings attached," Kai added for humorous effect, the moans from a few hours earlier in this very room still playing through in his mind and caught her flare of fieriness reminiscing over the same irony.

"An official date with Kai Parker," Bonnie hummed tapping her chin, "I do wonder what that entails. Are you the type that's a perfect gentleman, or show your true colors right off the bat."

"Both," he bragged, thinking back to a few choice encounters he orchestrated for Gabby, "but I'm no prude, I'll still kiss you on the first date. I'll check the movie times and see what's playing after I call the restaurant, you just get ready and we can head out in hour or so."

"Okay," Bonnie said in a quiet tone and he smirked backing away from the door heading into the living room to look up the restaurant Sheila always took him to because it was her favorite.

The part that Kai liked best was that it had a small dining area on the rooftop aligned with strings of lights and vines blocking out any viewers peeking up from the ground level and secluded you into your own little oasis bubble. Scrolling through the restaurants his thumb paused over the one that looked familiar and clicked the call button.

"Thank you for calling Cru, my name is Tori how can I help you?"

"Hello, I'd like to put in a reservation for two on the rooftop for 7:30."

"Of course and what will the name be under?"

"Kai Parker."

"Okay we'll have a table ready and waiting for you."

"Is there any way that I can pay to make the table look a little _extra_ special?"

"We can certainly work something out for you, Mr. Parker."

"Perfect, thank you," he chirped and hung up the phone.

Skipping the steps three at a time in search of clothes Kai rifled around for what he should choose for a date, the graphic tees and loose dungarees he wore when him and Gabby went out making him laugh out loud. Wanting to dress in both style and comfort he ditched the vest and slid on the pair of press pants, a white button up, and the black suit jacket – digging through the assortment of colored handkerchief's that the French man insisted he needed – and scooped up the silky white one sliding it into the chest pocket. Tying the laces of the matching fancy shoes Kai headed back down the steps and checked his phone, sighing that the whole process only took 10 minutes and still had to wait for Bonnie to get ready.

Killing time by brushing his teeth, running upstairs to grab his wallet and put on a little cologne he bought while they were away, he began checking the movie times for what's currently playing since he had no idea what would going on in this generation. Scrolling through the list of options Kai strayed from the obvious scary movie date since 1. Their lives already come with its own nightmarish qualities and 2. He didn't want to see Bonnie scared; hitting the opposite end and going with something funny. Doing eenie-meenie between two that didn't sound terrible he could hear Bonnie's voice trickling down the hall.

"I'll be out in one minute."

Clicking out of the sight and standing Kai sauntered over to the entrance out of the living room and glanced left at the empty hall, a smile spreading as a thought sprang to mind and stepped right towards the front door. Slipping out quietly and closing it behind him he kept his ear to the wood until Bonnie's voice mumbled something and knocked, waiting a beat with a goofy smile until the door opened and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

Bonnie was almost the same height as him in black heels with straps around her toes and ankles but the dress had Kai nearly dropping to his knees. The black material was long enough to fall to the floor on one side of her leg but the front of the other was completely bare, the slit going so high up her thigh he had to force down the lump in his throat. A tight strap cut across her ribs bunching up the dress across her midsection and hugging every curve but he was sure his vision was blurring seeing the low V-cut beginning just above the strap and cut from Bonnie's navel across her shoulders revealing the sides of her naked breasts and collarbones, fingers twitching wanting to run his hands over her bare skin. The long sleeves evened out the provocativeness with a taste of class and inhaled sharply catching the shimmer of the diamond bracelet and the garnet stone in the middle of her other hand.

Kai's gaze flicked up to Bonnie's face and vibrant green eyes shined through a darkened smokey effect, momentarily forgetting how to breathe as she stared back at him. Long dangly gold hoops hung down the sides of her neck and the dark purple lipstick was one of his personal preferences but it was the hairdo that she's never worn before that had him struggling to find words; every strand slicked back from Bonnie's face and down her skull letting the ends of it hang loosely down her back. The overall look of her outfit with the sleek hairstyle made her look closer to 25 than 20 and Kai couldn't shut off the filthy remarks and scenarios running through his mind, faintly hearing her voice but not being able to decipher anything coherent.

"What?"

"I asked if you were going to stand out there all night," Bonnie teased, "why are you outside?"

Glancing to his feet standing at the doorway it clicked where he was and what he was doing and gave her a dazzling smile. "I'm here to pick you up for our date."

"How _formal_ ," she said appreciatively and Kai held up his bent arm for her to take, shutting the door behind them.

"You look incredible," he informed her and Bonnie's eyes darted away from him biting her lip, "I feel so nervous now… it's strange."

Laughing out a sound of relief her arm tightened around his briefly before Kai opened the passenger door, heading around to his side and set off on their destination. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, but I think you'll like it," he responded mysteriously, raising a brow at his evasiveness. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Once or twice," she said rolling her eyes back, both falling into mindless chatter until they pulled up beside the restaurant watching Bonnie's eyes dazzle with recognition. "I love this place!"

"Sheila and I ate out here a _lot_ over the summer, it was her top choice," Kai commented reflecting back on all the meals spent together here with Bonnie's grandmother when he was just a teenager. "I thought it was a fitting spot for our first _official_ date."

"Yeah, you're gaining points," she rolled off her shoulder and Kai swelled with pride hopping out of the seat to open her door, easing her out with her high heels.

"I'm not used to you being eye-level."

"I know it's great," Bonnie beamed making him chuckle and walked with their hands clasped past the outdoor staircase that lead to the roof and crossed half of the wall-to-ceiling glass windows making their way to the front door and opened it for her to walk in first.

"Hi, welcome to Cru! How can I help you?"

"I have a reservation for 7:30 under Parker."

"Kai?" the girl asked scanning down the list and he nodded, waving over a server until a guy appeared and lead them up the hidden entryway to the top floor through the back of the building.

"We're going on the roof?" Bonnie asked excitedly copying her infectious smile as she grabbed hold of the side of his arm with her other hand.

"Only the best."

Keeping his arm around her waist to keep from falling backwards down the stairs in that footwear they were able to make it to the top unharmed. For a nice restaurant on New Year's Day the rooftop didn't appear overly crowded and scanned the area wondering where they're sitting until one space stood out above the rest. Spotting a fancy scene off to his left Kai followed behind Bonnie and the waiter to the small intimate setting at a table near the wraparound railing entwined with small white string lights that overlooked the town, sucking his lips in to keep the giant smile from spreading when his date stopped short nearly barreling into her when she caught site of where they were headed.

"Kai… what is this?"

"I guess they knew it was date night, weird."

Nudging Bonnie' to move forward she slowly walked up to their dinner table and looked down at the red, white, and pink rose pedals spread around the surrounding area on the ground with tea lights making a semi-circle around it. Pulling out her chair Kai sat opposite her and flicked one of the pedals trickled over the tablecloth aiming it at her bare chest.

"Okay how do you plan all of this," Bonnie motioned to the table flittered with candles and flowers then pointing at the pedal that landed perfectly where the low V-cut ended, "and then start it off like that? I swear you can be two different people."

"Likewise; I'd like to consider him my alter-ego."

"Which one?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who's the split personality; the romantic mature one, or the goofball?"

"Hmm," Kai contemplated, the first label not something he has ever been branded as before but one he's witnessed firsthand playing a more dominant role since he merged with Lucas and has felt aspects of both of those adjectives changing little bits of him in a short amount of time. The second reference is one he's been notorious for since he was a kid playing pranks at school and has kept up with that level of silliness throughout his life, the defense tactic to take everything as a joke a necessity growing up in the coven world he was forced to be a part of. If Bonnie had asked him a month ago who his core personality was he wouldn't think twice but Kai's realized that going from a universe frozen in time like himself, to a modern day catastrophe that keeps on spinning will inevitably have the same effect on him resulting in his own metamorphosis. "Tough to say, reminds me of _Jekyll and Hyde._ "

"That is very fitting," Bonnie laughed lightly as a waitress appeared beside them.

"Good evening, my name is Emma and I will be your waitress tonight, can I start you two off with something to drink?"

Skimming through the wine and liquor menu Kai ordered a dark & stormy, Bonnie a Cosmo, and glanced at the wines. "Do you like red or white?"

"For…" she uttered lost for a beat before looking at his menu, "oh, well I had a glass of red wine before and passed out an hour later."

"White it is," he nodded ordering the most French sounding thing there; a _1998 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame_ , giving them another minute to look over the food and walked away.

"Did you really just do the cliché move of buying a bottle of wine?"

"Yep," Kai said cheerfully switching menus, "now let's see the damage I can do with this food."

Glancing up at as he spoke he caught Bonnie's soft smile before flipping hers open too, wanting one of everything by the time they were ready to order and got two appetizers on top of their meals.

"You're never going to finish all of that."

"Oh I beg to differ, _and_ I'll save room for dessert," Kai bragged grinning at her happy sounds of amusement.

"Or you could not go into a food coma before the movie and bring some of it home – by the way what are we seeing?"

"There wasn't a ton of options but one sounded pretty fully, I think it was called _It's the end_ or something like that."

" _This Is the End?"_ Bonnie corrected and he nodded thinking that sounded about right, "Elena was just talking about it she said it was hilarious and that a lot of good people are in it."

"Sweet, glad I went with that over _Safe Haven,_ " he joked recalling one of the titles that stuck out to him.

"Awh but I like the name of that," she soothed with a sweet smile making Kai's chest pang. "It sounds cozy, but yes I'm glad you went with that choice too I'm in the mood for something funny."

"Thought you might be," he remarked lifting the corners of his mouth behind the glass before taking a few sips. "How's your drink?"

"Delicious, only the first of many apparently," Bonnie said gesturing to the bottle of wine chilling in an ice bucket beside them.

"It should even out nicely with the 8pounds I'm about to gain from this oncoming feast."

On cue the waitress appeared with their first appetizer, a platter of cheese and bacon potato skins, mini cheese quesadillas, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks; Kai's mouth filling with saliva before the plate reached the table. Scooping a potato skin he bit half of it in one bite, Bonnie's eyes widening as she nibbled on a mozzarella stick. Moaning in delight he finished it before moving onto a quesadilla slathered in sour cream, _Cru_ exceeding his expectations knowing how delectable their dishes used to be. They hadn't made it through half before the second helping arrived and gladly made room for the buffalo chicken flatbread.

"I love the lights they use," Bonnie commented staring above them and he followed her gaze to the low dipped stream of large bulbs scattered across the rooftop by small posts illuminating the scenery.

"It's pretty cozy."

"You used to come here with Gram's?" she wondered bringing his attention down and across the table to Bonnie's smile, imitating it.

"Yeah, it was kind of our go-to spot. I always had to sit at a different table though, drove her nuts – and I preferred the rooftop setting."

"Wait…" Bonnie uttered eyes glossing over distantly, replaying something in her head before snapping her eye-line back to him. "I think she told me about you before."

"Really?"

"Yeah we used to come here a lot too but I didn't want her to have to go up and down the stairs so we usually stayed inside or out front. We were here for my 14th or 15th birthday and I asked if Gram's would mind if we went to the rooftop because I love it up here and she started laughing saying I reminded her of a young man she used to come here with that _had_ to eat up on the roof every time."

"Without fail," Kai grinned wide, "what else did she say?"

"Not too much; she told me it was before I was born and that you were around my age at the time," she picked up a piece of flatbread biting off a corner hiding her shy expression behind it. "She thought we would get along."

"Why's that?"

Bonnie lifted her shoulder looking over the edge of the railing at the town. "Something about opposites attract."

Kai's wolfish grin spread reaching his ears and she rolled her eyes through a shake of her head when she looked back. There had always been the thought in the back of his mind that Sheila had dropped Bonnie into his world for a reason other than avoiding her death, and that it had to do with him. Growing up in a world where your parents resented you Kai didn't know what it felt like to have love and affection from a paternal figure until he was dropped on Sheila Bennett's doorstep. Being a cocky and terrified child he was fairly set in his ways to keep to himself and have a barrier between him and everyone else – aside from Josette – because that negativity he felt radiating off of his family had it ingrained in his mind that what he was doing was normal, and that that's how everyone was going to view or treat him.

What Kai enjoyed about Sheila most was how vocal she was and that she never held back; whether she was talking to him, his father, or any random civilian in between and that level of honesty exposed his own personality beginning to open up and speak his mind. Bonnie's grandmother never passed a hint of judgment his way and to this day he hasn't understood why, the way she sometimes talked to him giving Kai the impression that she knew something he didn't but she didn't express anything that would give him that indication.

There was a feeling that overcame him when he was with Sheila that he couldn't figure out – something more than a familiarity, almost like a connection – that drove him crazy because he hadn't felt it with anyone else before, even his twin sister. Being branded as defective from as far as he could think back to Kai was convinced even at that age that no one loved him and in return didn't think he was capable of loving anyone back, growing up into the _sociopath_ label just confirming what he knew all along. The distant lingering memory had all but vanished from that brief moment when he was a teenager until Bonnie locked eyes with him across a room engulfed in flames and the feeling came crashing down on him until he felt it in his bones.

There was always that pang of curiosity the first four months when Kai stalked her and Damon from afar that intrigued him more than anything but he had to admit experiencing that same emotion he could only recall going through once in his life certainly threw him for a loop having even more motivation to get to know the witch behind the Bennett name. Coming into contact with that flood of confusion told Kai one thing with clarity – what he was feeling towards Sheila wasn't love, since he didn't even know who the girl opposite him tonight was all those months ago – but it did spike his inquisitiveness to get to the bottom of what the hell this _connection_ is he has in both of their presences. He knew Sheila would _legitimately_ move Hell and Earth to keep her family safe and alive to see another day, but the longer he's spent with Bonnie the more time he's reflected on the thought that maybe her Gram's was trying to give him a second chance at being saved too.

"I knew she thought I was a catch," Kai bragged holding his chin out for added effect.

"Have you always been so modest, too?" Bonnie asked cocking an eyebrow making his smile shine biting a mozzarella stick in half.

"Of course, it's one of my best charms," he winked and the waitress came back for their official dinner order, opening the bottle of wine with a corkscrew when she walked away and poured them both a glass.

"I didn't take you as much of a wine drinker."

"I am if the occasion calls for it," he commented swirling the liquid around in the glass, "why, what do you take me for?"

"The wine cooler / twisted teas type of guy," she suggested as he went to take a sip choking a laugh into the cup making Bonnie's face light up with hilarity. "Kidding, but liquor seems more your style."

Clearing his throat through the wine going down the wrong tube her expression wiped away any burning left in his windpipes and traveled down spreading warmth throughout his chest. "Not as easy as you think to stick me in a category."

"For anything," Bonnie specified, looking him over, "but I'm learning,"

"That goes both ways," Kai remarked feeling like he could chest-bump the guy next to him over her actively going out of her way to get to know him better, "although I think you might have a classification all of your own."

Flashing her dimples at the reserved twinkling grin Bonnie picked up her glass to taste the wine and shifted over to the steaming plates appearing at their sides before being placed in front of them and the smells blocked out any other thoughts aside from how delicious this steak was about to be. Both took a few minutes of comfortable silence going for their third-course meal and Kai was piling his way through it with ease, filling another glass before pouring some into hers and diving into the mashed potatoes with chives.

"I can't breathe, I'm so full," Bonnie moaned slouching forward and holding her stomach, pushing her plate of barely touched chicken stir fry away with one finger.

"Hope you can make some room, dessert's the best thing here," Kai pepped and she made a sound like she was going to puke.

"I'll fall over and pass out right at this table," she promised and he chortled.

"Fine, I'll get it to go."

"It'll be melty or mush by the time we're out of the movie."

"Not if there was a way to put some kind of spell on it," he whispered in a hushed tone smirking at her mouth opened like an ' _o'_ in realization.

"Well don't you just have all of the answers."

"With great power…" Kai said cheekily not needing to finish the phrase to catch the shimmer of her dark lips curving at one of the corners, scanning over her prominent features popping out from the black eyeshadow and dark purple lipstick. The makeup amplified Bonnie's eyes twice as bright making them too intoxicating to look away from and the slicked-back hairdo making her look older was making his blood-pressure rise to the point of wanting to take off his jacket to let the January breeze cool him down. "So what are you gonna get?"

Biting the side of her cheek to push her lips to the side Bonnie hummed in contemplation and on cue the woman arrived with the dessert menus in hand, taking away the dishes to box the leftovers and checked out their options.

"Oh, this chocolate raspberry truffle pie is coming home with me," Bonnie practically salivated looking at the picture.

"Okay good because I was debating between that and the midnight fudge cake with ice cream so that solves that dilemma."

"Who says you're getting any of mine?"

"Oh I'll work for it if I have to," Kai said playfully reaching across the table to brush his fingertips lightly against her knuckles, the waitress coming back to ruin the moment at just the opportune time and glanced up to her reddened face fishing his card out of his wallet and letting her know they'd like their dessert to go.

Within minutes their dinner was paid for and they were heading down the stairs to the next destination and arrived at the theater down the road within minutes, escorting Bonnie up the walkway and up to the front desk.

"How can I help you?"

"Can I get two for _This Is the End_ , please?"

"Would that be standard seating or Lux Level?" The man asked and Kai raised a brow.

"What's Lux Level?"

"It's the Level raised above the regular seating; you can order food or drinks with a call button and the seats are either recliners or doubled love seats."

"Oh, definitely that," he smiled handing him his card before they were ushered up a secret stairway, turning the corner to the spacious and plush seating area that was vacant besides them. "Well this is glamorous, have you been up here before?"

"I've never even thought of it, especially since a movie ticket is pricey to begin with."

"Who could put a price on these seats?" Kai said with a grand gesture to their options, following her to the love seat in the dead center.

Sliding off his jacket he sat on Bonnie's left and scooped her legs up in the same motion crossing them over one of his thighs letting them hang in between. Curling up beside him she wrapped her forearms around his pulling it over to her lap and ran her nails gently across the space between his wrist and where his elbow bends, looking down to her twirling her index finger around his thumb ring. Watching the previews roll through Kai was surprised when the lights dimmed out and they were still the only ones in the upper level, the advantages to this course of action not crossing his mind until this moment.

"Smooth, putting us all by ourselves in a dark theater," Bonnie remarked and he chuckled at her skillset to read his mind.

"I didn't even think about that until now, I was sold when he told me the seating arrangements and realized I wouldn't have to bruise my ribs pushing my side into the armrests to get closer."

"Mhm sure," she poked fun at him and giggled when he nuzzled his face into the side of hers, kissing under her ear and leaning back when the actors started in on the first scene.

Whenever he finds himself in a dark room with Bonnie his hormones kick up a notch and becomes hyper aware of every touch that passes between them heightening his mind and body simultaneously. Even now – out in a public place that is deceivingly private – he has to force the raunchy thoughts out of his mind when her bare feet run down his inner thighs, massaging her legs with his free hand to appease a portion of him. They had stayed in a goofy giggly state up until everyone locked in the house surviving the apocalypse decided to take all of the drugs before Kai could feel eyes on him every thirty seconds for over ten minutes straight, peering down to lock his gaze on hers.

"Am I as entertaining as the movie?" he asked cocking his head to the side and Bonnie's head jerked back, blinking rapidly like she was daydreaming.

"Maybe," Bonnie remarked casually and looked away, copying her before her head was turned back two minutes later.

"I can't concentrate when you're looking at me," Kai said with honesty gliding his palm up to the slit on her upper thigh on one leg.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked in an alluring tone and his lips were on hers before she could fully process what she said, running his hand over Bonnie's dress up her chest and pulled her closer by the side of the neck.

Leaning into her Kai appreciated the lack of special awareness of their seats and followed her momentum when she fell backwards and turned planting one foot on the ground as the other kneeled on the cushion, Bonnie's legs snugged up in between them. Not trying to get with her in the middle of a theater Kai left soft kisses against her lips and drifted south over her chin and down the middle of her throat feeling the gulp she forced down gasping lightly in response. Sucking on the side of her neck he could feel Bonnie wiggling around underneath him trying to lift her hips and reached behind her with his free arm grinding her into his dick that was growing harder with each sound that was an inch away from his ear, his chest rising deeper as his breathing got heavier.

Keeping her suspended off the cushion her arms curled around his neck holding him close and Kai's hands started to shake feeling his heart pounding so fast he was lightheaded, any sense of time slipping away from them as they fought to get closer to the other. Hearing the audience erupt in merriment underneath their secluded balcony he looked off to the right at the screen seeing a group of people dressed in white looking like they were Heaven with the clouds, the gates, and the whole nine yards as a handful of them broke off into a musical number.

"Backstreet Boys!" Bonnie exclaimed nodding her head along to the song, "I still love them; they've been together since I was born."

"Ah, the rise of boy bands," Kai said with a shake of his head, "when they started pulling away from the classic acts like Pink Floyd, The Doors, and Nirvana."

"Nirvana broke up in '94 after Kurt Cobain died," she informed and he clutched the small space of chest with the hand not holding Bonnie against him.

"Don't remind me, it's still too soon," he said in a tight voice feeling her chest vibrate against his with laughter, easing her back onto the cushion when the song abruptly ended and the lights brightened as the end credits began to roll.

"Damn it, we missed another ending," Bonnie huffed and Kai made a crooked face with his mouth, pushing down the smile itching to break free.

"Sorry about that, I'll do a spell tomorrow to link the TV at the house with this one; instant movie theater at home," Kai suggested coming up with it on the spot and leaned back pulling her up with him.

"Why didn't you do that to begin with then?"

"And miss out on this?" he asked incredulously giving her a bug-eyed stare, "Not a chance."

Helping Bonnie back into her heels he threw back on his jacket and followed her out of the theater, getting halfway home when a lightbulb went off in his mind and turned left at the next set of lights.

"Where are you going, Gram's is straight."

"I have something in mind to end off our date with," Kai grinned feeling pleased with himself coming up with it on the spot, "but I don't want you to know where we're going so close your eyes."

"Really?" she asked checking out the window to see where they were.

"Yeah I think you'll guess it and ruin the surprise, just humor me I know you've done it in the past."

"As long as you know," Bonnie agreed closing her eyes and rested back on the headrest, reaching for her hand to lace his fingers through and kept them interlocked in her lap until they pulled up to the Boarding House.

"Okay keep them closed I'm going to help you out, can you reach behind you and grab the food?" Kai commented turning off the engine and hopping out of the car before opening the door and scooping Bonnie up like a bride, chortling at her surprised shriek opening her eyes and he kissed her to block out any potential view.

"You could warn a girl," she vocalized against his lips and held onto the back of his neck resting her temple against his shoulder slinking her arm through the bags handle to ensure it didn't spill on the ground. Rounding to the back of the house he walked the extra couple of minutes down the path to one of Bonnie's favorite spots and went down the few steps, placing her on her feet.

"Give me one more minute and I promise you can open them," Kai declared kissing her nose and turned facing the now dead archway overhead. Mumbling out a simple nature spell Josette used to be fascinated with he held his arms out at either side running down the middle watching the leaves, vines, and flowers come to life as he passed until everything overhead and around him looked vibrant with purple and white flowers hanging down low about ten feet above his head. Saying another spell that his twin got use out of during the holidays when she was lazy he ran back towards Bonnie and small twinkling lights wrapped around the metal archway as some hung down with the flowers illuminating the secret cove. Waving his hand carelessly with another incoherent sentence of magic a small table and two chairs appeared behind him and stood an inch away from his date, running two fingers against her cheek. "Okay, open them."

Lifting her heavy lids like she was just waking up Bonnie blinked a few times to wipe away the daze and looked into his eyes, shifting to turn out of the way so she could see what was behind him and watched her face morph expressing different emotions. What he could perceive as surprise, shock, and joy crossed over her features but there were flashes of others that Kai couldn't place as they passed by as quickly as they appeared. Walking slowly she moved deeper into the archway sticking to one side and ran her hand along the lights and flowers, turning back to him with a heartfelt look in her eye that made his stomach twist.

"How did I not know you were such a romantic? I've spent almost a year with you."

Laughing softly at the remark Kai gestured to the table beside them and placed their still chilled to the touch desserts in front of them, sitting opposite her. "I wouldn't go that far, I just know what you like and try to incorporate them into things."

"I may not be giving you enough credit then," Bonnie said still looking overhead at the lights and colors, dropping her compelling gaze back down to his. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

"No really, this is… I've never," she paused, looking over his face. "No one's ever done anything like this for me before – and obviously the spontaneous trip to Paris is at the top of that list, but this, it means a lot to me."

"I know how much you like the little things," Kai smiled not letting his giddiness over her words show through and popped open the container taking a bite of his cake and humming out an exaggerated noise of satisfaction. "This might be the best cake I've ever had."

Taking a bite of her dessert Bonnie sank into her chair mimicking the same noise closing her eyes. "It can't be better than this."

Sinking his fork back into the dessert he stretched his arm out for her to try it and her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. "What's the verdict?"

"I don't know they're both so delicious," she moaned and dragged her fork through the chocolate mousse offering him some.

"Wow, I forgot how good this place actually is."

"Did it turn into your preferred choice of dining too?" Bonnie asked reflecting on her Gram's and his lip curved thinking back to when he was convinced he'd never eat at Cru again from how many times he went there during one summer.

"Absolutely."

Feeling a breeze pick up he saw Bonnie's hand shiver as she went to take a bite and stood letting the jacket fall from his shoulders and swung it around in front of him throwing it over hers.

"Thanks," she said with a small smile pulling her arms back to put them through the sleeves and tugged it around her front curling into it.

Spending most of his time staring at Bonnie he observed her unaware of his gaze instead switching between looking to her plate to make sure she didn't miss the food and sight-seeing the archway surrounding them, following her eye-line once or twice looking at everything lit up on a dusky night. Finishing the remnants of dessert they stayed for another fifteen minutes walking through the stretch of archway holding hands before an aggressive yawn shook Bonnie's frame.

"You ready to go home?"

"No I don't want to leave this place," she whined pulling at his sleeve and Kai pivoted enveloping her in a hug around her shoulders as her hands locked against his lower back. "It's so beautiful here."

"We can come back whenever you want, I think I've figured out how to get here by now."

Squeezing him tighter Bonnie's mouth pressed into the crook of his neck sending chills down his spine and turned his head kissing her cheek, her temple, and her forehead when she pulled back to look at him, leaning into him to brush her lips against his. Kai smiled feeling her body relax into him through an exhale and heard a sound coming from the back of his throat when she moved nibbling her way to his neck enclosing her into him. Breathing her in both stayed in their temporary bubble a few minutes longer until the breeze kicked up again swaying them to the side.

"Fine, I guess we can go," Bonnie said sadly leaning back to see her eyes shimmering against the strung lights, "this was a really nice surprise to finish off our date with."

"Thought you might like it," Kai murmured pressing his nose to hers before loosening his grip and taking a step back to pick up the containers and wave away the furniture, looking around at the scenery debating if he should get rid of the evidence of them being here.

"Don't even think about it," she threatened poking him lightly in the chest and his eye-line dropped back down to hers, nodding in agreement before she smiled with satisfaction and led the way back to the car, the drive home taking minutes – if that.

"So this is usually the part where the guy drops off the girl at their house," Kai pointed out behind her as she turned the key in the door unlocking it, turning slowly to face him.

"That's a good point."

"Can I come in if I swear I'll be good?"

"You're really going to take that kind of oath?" Bonnie inquired skeptically squinting one eye more than the other.

"I will if it's necessary."

"Because I don't go all the way on a first date," she said innocently, contradicting her words by running her fingers lightly down his shirt buttons.

"There's a lot of wiggle room I could get around in that statement," Kai uttered in a low tone leaning in to rest his hand on the doorframe behind her, pushing her butt against the door and opening it when his face closed in on hers.

Stalking his prey he pushed through the open entrance swinging the door closed behind him and chased her to the end of the hall wrapping his arm around Bonnie's stomach before he could stop himself, his momentum pushing her through the bedroom's entrance and lifted her off the floor by the back of the thighs lying her diagonally across the bed. Moving his jacket off her shoulders Kai's fingers tickled across her bare skin over her collarbones down her chest squeezing her breasts over the material as he went, muttering ' _lux_ ' as the room illuminated with Christmas lights bordering the ceilings perimeter and down the corners bringing Bonnie's face back into view with clarity. Kicking her heels off she dragged her legs down the back of his thighs and he pulled Bonnie up yanking her tight dress over her hips in the same movement, her legs immediately opening and rolling her hips up into his.

Grunting quietly against her mouth Kai slid his fingers over her panties from behind and grinded his teeth feeling her wet for him, roaring at the beast in his mind not to gain control and take over. Shaking hands reached up and tugged at the dress hanging off of her shoulders pulling it down to her elbows, the material clinging to her keeping her arms stuck by her side and fully exposing her breasts. Cupping one his lips encased the other flicking her nipple with his tongue and Bonnie thrashed underneath him clenching her thighs to gain some type of advantage. Pulling her up Kai leaned back sitting on his knees and Bonnie grinded against him booming out a moan when his hand gripped the material crossing behind her backside keeping her arms locked in place, involuntarily rocking into his pants faster.

Groaning feeling her barely-there panties rub over his stiffness Kai let go of the dress to hold either side of her face and kiss her with passion, Bonnie's whimper breaking off another piece of his restraint and her shoulders and arms flailed behind her trying to break free from the clothes. Gliding his hands down to reach around her thighs he pulled the dress up hugging every curve of her body and slowly pulled her arms through the sleeves tugging the material over her head leaving her in nothing but a small piece of lace that was soon to be gone as well. Pushing against his chest Kai lost his balance and fell backwards laughing when he hit the bed and fingers brushed down his chest undoing the buttons speedily as they went, spreading open his shirt to drag her nails down his stomach catching her breath hitch when they reached his pants.

" _Bon_ ," he breathed against her lips in warning, not wanting to stop but knowing he won't be able to think logically if she keeps grinding into him and Bonnie responded by running her hands through his hair and pressing her breasts into him.

Hearing a rumble form deep in his chest he ran his hands down her spine gripping the lace and tearing it away with a sharp _snap,_ gasping and tugging his hair tighter. "Stop _doing_ that!"

"I can't help it," Kai chuckled sliding his fingers between her cheeks and through her folds loving the innocent little sounds she makes when he first touches her.

Caressing her with soft strokes Bonnie left kisses across his jaw and waited until she leaned back to look at him to push two fingers inside, the strangled noise that gets stuck in her throat always the thing that does him in. Watching her heavy lids close he inhaled her choppy sounds sliding his fingers in and out leisurely, tilting his head committing this moment to memory and rested his thumb against her rear feeling her jerk into him. Lifting her chest off of his Kai felt her shaking hands push between them grabbing him through his pants and heard something guttural protrude out of his throat, unzipping them and reaching underneath his boxers squeezing when she pulled back.

Growling at the sensation his other hand gripped the nape of Bonnie's neck pulling her forehead to his and caught a flash of the eroticism reflecting back at him, easing forward and rubbing his thumb over the same spot massaging the tenderness. Pushing his clothes as far down as she could manage the contact of her stomach against the underside of his shaft forced out a huff against her face and groaned when her clit rubbed against him, Kai's heart beating at turbo speed blurring his vision. He's already been telling himself he can't flip Bonnie over and drive into her until she's gasping his name – because that's not what she wants, but he'll be damned if she is not trying to test him past the point of any man's sanity as she writhed on top of him while all the vital parts of them are naked.

"I know you said you don't hook up on the first date, but…" Kai murmured against her lips, "we _did_ technically sleep together earlier today, and then you wore that dress with the hair and makeup-"

"Kai," she uttered through an exhale prompting his fingers to push in farther.

"I want you," he remarked in a husky tone, " _now._ "

"So take me," Bonnie enticed nipping at his chin and he flipped her on her back grinding into her and laughter bubbled out of him feeling every article of clothing still hanging off of him.

Kicking off his shoes with half a battle she joined in in the amusement giggling into the crook of his neck between nibbles and helped him out of his shirt one sleeve at a time while he worked on his pants, lying on top of her to push them down his shins and muscles tightened when she moaned against his throat. Running the tip of his dick over her clit and through her folds Bonnie rolled her hips up the same time he thrust forward and sunk halfway down in one stride, a tight sound of pain slipping out as her forehead scrunched up squeezing her eyes shut. Kai didn't know what was wrong with him but he took some form of sick pleasure in knowing that Bonnie has to open up and readjust for him every time they're together until there's that bite of discomfort; choosing to put herself through it because she wants to be with him too.

Pinching one of her nipples his teeth grazed over the other making her muscles contract and loosen before pulling him in deeper, snaking his other arm behind her lower back to guide her into his movements. Lifting his head to look over her features Kai kissed between her brows aiming to wipe away her worry lines and brushed his lips over her face until dilated eyes stared back at him, smiling at her expression unwinding as the seconds passed and reached out grabbing hold of the headboard. Towering over her Bonnie slid her hands across his stomach as his abs tightened every time he rocked into her and his deep noises were grating out through his teeth seeing her meeting his every drive and slid his hand out from behind her gripping the side of her throat leaning down to kiss her.

Every roll of his tongue pushed his hips in deeper until her pelvis slammed off of his and nearly came on the spot when she cried out a moan and clenched down squeezing him like a fist. More than a little ticked off that he was having such a difficult time keeping it together Kai knew he had to switch up his game plan before he finished first and went for something that surprisingly seemed to drive Bonnie wild; his aggression. Pushing his hand into her roots and gripping down the other moved from the headboard to propel her into him and leaned back on his knees pulling her up with him, feeling the satisfaction of her thighs shaking around him that he was missing out on earlier. Tugging at her hair Bonnie's head lulled backwards exposing her neck and he drove into her the same time he bit down on the column of her throat and his body vibrated feeling her vocal cords groan against his tongue.

" _More…_ " rang through his ears in a whispered plea and Kai dropped his forehead to her shoulder as the energy surged through his body like electricity, any constraint he was holding onto dwindling away as he tightened his grip hammering into her.

Curling her limbs around him Bonnie's gasps turned feral the harder he pumped her onto him and a wave of dizziness hit him sliding his middle finger between her cheeks pushing through the soft tissue when she was coming down on a thrust without warning. Feeling her body starting to shake and convulse almost immediately Kai cursed through a groan and the blood roared in his ears signaling he couldn't hold off any longer and breathed out a quick prayer of thanks hearing Bonnie come undone half a second before him, riding out the both of their orgasms before he fell backwards taking her down with him. Kai could tell his chest was heaving by how rapidly her frame was rising on top of him and felt his heart racing in his throat, Bonnie leaning in and leaving small kisses against his pulse.

"Sorry to ravage you on our first date," he commented in a hoarse voice, "before _and_ after."

"There are worse ways to end the night," Bonnie purred against his skin soothing his fevered mind and closed his eyes, "but I'm not done quite yet, I still want to jump in the shower to wash out the gel in my hair."

"Okay, I'll be here," he murmured through heavy lids and smiled when her lips pressed against his.

"I'll be out in a minute."

Peeling off of him Kai's brows drew in feeling the absence of her weight against him and dragged his upper body to the other side of the bed. Pulling back the sheets and crawling underneath he kicked them out of the way and plopped on the pillow, not thinking any time had passed when his eyes jolted open and shoulders twitched when Bonnie was suddenly on top of him again. Breathing in the shampoo his arms curled behind her back letting her get comfortable before pulling her in closer and she brought the sheet up with her cuddling into his torso; his nails running up and down her spine until she deflated into him pulling Kai into the darkness with her.


	29. Chapter 29

"Well don't you look positively beaming," Elena chirped with sarcasm pulling Bonnie out of her daydream as they walked through the doors to the main building in Whitmore, scanning the students for their bubbly friend.

"Waking up early and getting thrown back into school is just a dream come true," Bonnie replied in an overly ambitious voice, "I _do_ miss the stress that comes along with the package deal."

"Don't forget about all of the activities!" she said bumping her hip, "I hope you didn't expect to bail on all of the fun stuff like you did last year because we're doing it all; the parties, the events, the themed weeks – you'll be sick of us by the end of the semester."

"It won't take me that long," Bonnie teased through a wide smile, "seeing how I already agreed to spend time in the dorms too since someone persuaded the Dean to make your room a triple."

"It was easier than you think," Elena gloated brushing off one of her shoulders, "but are you sure you want to with that man candy at home waiting for you?."

Laughing out at the surprising remark Bonnie could tell over the last week her best friend had been trying to pull back the reigns on her judgment and was joking around with her like when she first came back from the prison world. A squeal of delight rang off to her left and didn't need to turn her head to know Caroline had spotted them, appearing by her side a moment later enveloping her in a hug.

"This is going to be awesome! The three of us in college, back together again; this calls for a picture." Pulling out her phone they all willingly obliged and huddled together smiling at their reflection on the screen. "So how did everything go with registering and figuring out your schedule?"

"Well the last week hasn't exactly been pleasant," Bonnie remarked thinking back to all of the phone calls and time spent on Whitmore's website, "but I was able to lie my way out of the school thinking I faked my death so that was pretty impressive. In fact I was so good I managed to get all of my credits from last year even though I don't think I _technically_ finished so I don't have to go through orientation again. I'm still majoring in fashion design and am even more committed after seeing the styles they have in France, I wanted to switch my minor to dance but I missed the cut-off date for the semester. I was thinking of joining the dance team…"

"What a great idea!" Caroline beamed shaking her hips around, "I love dancing; that sounds perfect."

"I don't have nearly the same level of skills in that department as either of you which we have all witnessed firsthand."

"Oh come on, you'll be the comedic relief for us all," she said sliding her arm around her shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "let's make this class memorable."

"Aren't you sweet," Elena replied in a sour tone peeling her fingers off, "how can I say no to that thrilling invitation?"

Shifting her gaze from one friend to the other her eyebrows drew in seeing Care's expression freeze before darting to Bonnie's. Opening her mouth to ask why she was staring hands slid around to her stomach spiking her adrenaline and wretched away pulling at their wrists – her finger running over the spinner ring on their thumb. Spinning around Kai's toothy grin blinded her vision and pushed against his chest involuntarily being taken by surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm starting my first day of college," he declared with a proud smile.

" _What?_ Why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?"

"I thought the look you're giving me right now would be more satisfying – it is by the way, and I also didn't decide until the other day."

"How'd you manage to get in that quickly?" Elena asked but Bonnie already knew the answer, Kai's response a mischievous wiggle of his fingers.

"Could have been because of my charm, but my magical trigger finger _may_ have made an appearance or two."

"What made you choose Whitmore?" Caroline grinned crossing her arms and tilting her head.

"The girls," he winked, "I mean look at the three beauties I just stumbled across; I'd say I made the right choice. Unfortunately I have to spend the day taking tours of a building I already know by heart with overactive kids but I was hoping you'd be joining in on the conquest."

Kai's thumb ran down the front of her hand sliding over her ring to her nail and let go sending the same spark up the middle of her back. "I'm not new or a transfer so I don't have to, and to be fair I didn't _know_ you were going to be here. What are you even majoring in?"

"Criminal Justice," Kai declared earning an incredulous look from Bonnie and snickers from her friends. "Think about it; I'm not squeamish, I've seen my fair share of crazy, and I have a pretty keen insight into the homicidal mind. Not to brag but I think I could kick some ass no matter what side I'm fighting for."

"What kind of job did you have in mind?" Elena inquired from the other side of him, his head turning to face her.

"No idea, I didn't plan on pursuing anything to begin with but I figure I might as well have the Degree to back it up – and I have always been curious of how college would treat me."

"How was high school?"

"Memorable."

"You were one of the popular kids?" Care asked looking him over, "actually… yeah, I can see that."

"Smooth talking his way out of trouble with the teachers," Elena nodded.

"Because he was disruptive and trying to teach the class, chalk in hand."

"Are you sure you never went to school with me?" Kai chuckled looking from one friend to the other, "I hope we have a few classes together now."

"There's a possibility with Elena, she's studying pre-med but I'm in journalism so I don't know if we'd have any of the same and I doubt you'll be taking part in anything revolved around fashion."

Tilting his back to Bonnie he spoke through squinted eyes, "you're studying fashion?"

"Yes?" she responded in an unsure tone, looking over his features until a faint memory reappeared bringing out her smile, "why, sound familiar?"

Licking his lips Kai's teeth flashed shaking his head and looked around at all of them before falling back on her. "It rings a really ironic bell, yes, but at least I know the outcome won't be the same."

Bonnie's cheeks felt red hot feeling everyone's eyes turn on her and caught a flash of Gabby and Kai in the auditorium discussing her future career and their life together before she stormed off – never to be seen again. Clearing her throat to push through the nerves from the focused attention on her a rue smirk spread across her face meeting Kai's eyes.

"Is that your way of saying you don't think I'm good enough to go pro?"

"Yeah, that's absolutely where I was going with that," he said through a roll of his eyes reaching for the side of her neck thumping their foreheads together lightly and leaned back. "I'm going to get a drink from the vending machine, do you want anything?"

Tongue-tied from the display of affection Bonnie shook her head and his eyes trailed left to the other people in the circle.

"Is that an open invitation?" Caroline pepped, "Because a Code Red Mountain Dew sounds delicious right now."

"Okay," he smiled and looked to Elena.

"I'm good, thanks."

Retreating away from the circle she watched Kai saunter over to the soda machine near the windows and couldn't help but notice the attention he was drawing in as he passed by students. A tall girl with long wavy blonde hair off to her left caught her eye and internally groaned at the 6 foot model in a pale pink flowy string-halter top with magenta and green leaves splattered across it and white jeans striding across the room.

"One thing I didn't miss while I was gone was having to see all of the beautiful people in the world," Bonnie commented and both ladies turned their heads in the direction she was looking, her casual remark turning personal when the girl walked directly up to Kai who was crouched down and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Pardon?" Care remarked but she couldn't hear anything over the buzzing in her ears, his head turning to face the person before standing to give her a hug.

"Oh, okay," Elena uttered crossing her arms, "because that's how I embrace strangers."

Scrutinizing every feature and gesture the girl was displaying Bonnie darted to the ground watching Kai step backwards and up to her fingers resting against his wrist, lifting his hand holding one of the bottles to gesture towards them before she tugged him in a different direction. Following their movements they walked over to another girl and three guys all seeming to be eagerly awaiting their arrival and Bonnie could see the moment Kai's face morphed from confusion to recognition, his smile lighting up the rest of the groups expressions too.

"Who are they?" Caroline whispered leaning in and she shrugged, not having the slightest inkling.

"I didn't think Kai had any friends," Bonnie vocalized staring off at the interaction on the other side of the room and heard Elena snigger beside her, "and if he did I assumed they'd be in their 30's or 40's by now."

Pivoting Kai's eyes locked on hers freezing her in mid-sentence and began stalking towards them – the group of college kids close behind. Drowning out the questions from the familiar voices beside her Bonnie breathed in deeply and held her breath until potent blue orbs were in front of her, a pair of smoky grey's settling in beside him.

"Bon, this is my friend Ash's little sister, Anna."

"AnnaLynne," she said rolling her eyes before breaking out in a smile, "hi, it's so great to meet you! I've been hearing about the Bennett's since I was a kid, it's nice to put a face to the name."

"Oh," Bonnie uttered hearing the familiarity in the name when Kai was telling her he initiated his first member into the coven, "It's nice to meet you too."

"I'm Caroline and this is Elena, are you all from around here?" Care asked in a light voice but she could hear the investigation in her tone, looking over to Kai briefly when he handed her the bottle of soda.

"No we actually just transferred over from Portland," AnnaLynne replied and Bonnie's blood-pressure rose looking from one unfamiliar face to the next.

"We're Gemini's," a deep voice sounded beside her and shifted to a pair of blue eyes around the same height as Elena. He had a faint sprinkle of facial hair across his jawline and spikey brown hair jutting out, scanning briefly over his tan skin and all black outfit consisting of jeans, a sweatshirt, and jean-jacket. "I'm Cody."

"The runt of the litter," a shaggy blonde-haired boy spoke up, his open plaid button-up over his t-shirt hanging open when he put Cody in a headlock and his smile brought out his dimples as he looked over her, Elena, and Caroline with irises that were so dark brown they were blacked out. "My name's Evan, and I heard you were the one who busted our new leader out of prison; props to you."

"Speaking of which," a tall dark-skinned guy wearing a grey pullover hoodie and jeans leaned in shaking Bonnie's hand; his black hair buzzed short with facial hair on his chin and over his lip vocalized with a smoothness in his voice, "any friend of his is indicted straight into the coven's inner circle so don't hesitate to call us up any time you feel like doing something exhilarating."

"Oh Michael, how chivalrous," the fair skinned redhead said placing her palm on her dark blue dress over her heart, "where would any of us be without you? I'm Emma, nice to meet you all."

"Are you all from different families?" Elena asked after Bonnie failed to break the silence first.

"Yeah we're five out of the six families – I guess technically Liv would be the sixth that's around our age, but we've stuck together pretty closely growing up. After Kai nixed the rule saying we can only practice when the coven's together we broke off into our own circle. My last name's Stone, that flirt over there is Michael Turner, Evan Hayes, Cody Cooper, and Emma-"

"Walsh," Kai finished her sentence, looking over the redhead, "how's Liam?"

"Oh my uncle's been pretty headstrong since you bumped him out of _Second in Command_ and handed down the title to Ashley."

"My most trusted advisor," he grinned looking back to AnnaLynne, "when I asked Ash if she'd accept the position I figured her hanging back in Portland to keep an eye on things meant you were getting trapped there too."

"Like I was going to let that happen after the way you talked this place up. Besides, my transfer had already gone through and all of my friends were on route to heading East."

"I have to admit I'm a little amazed to see me and Josette's generation listening to my advice," Kai remarked and Bonnie's heart warmed seeing his small smile form, "I was sure the clan was going to try and vote me off the island after my presentation."

"Oh there were whispers," Evan chimed in, "the Elders were _pissed._ "

"A few threatened to leave if our parents didn't side with them, that was pretty hilarious," Cody laughed.

"And don't even get us started on the rollercoaster of telling them we were leaving the fishbowl," Michael commented.

"I don't know if I've ever seen my uncle so angry."

"I bet I have," Kai beamed, "but I wish I could have seen him when he discovered that piece of information."

"Wildly explosive is an understatement. My dad was hesitant but my mom was beyond ready to get the hell out of dodge so here we are, _on the Devil's doorstep_ as my uncle liked to mock us with."

Bowing with a grand gesture the small group laughed at his overemphasis. "He's right, I'm an _Angel_."

"The horns are just there to hold up the halo," Caroline expressed waving her hands towards his forehead earning another round of merriment.

"So Cooper, they said you were the youngin' of the group, how old are you?"

"Nineteen; I'm the last person your dad initiated, and the youngest since both of my parents are still in the circle."

"What are their names?" Kai asked tilting his head to the side.

"Dean and Daneel," Cody said through a smirk and their coven leader's face brightened, his mouth opening up in a wide smile.

"You're kidding, they really got married? I owe Ash twenty bucks," he chuckled turning to look at Bonnie. "They were attached at the hip since the 3rd grade; I was sure there was no way they'd still be able to stand each other after they graduated when we were freshman. I didn't even see them during the ritual – even though technically it's been a couple of decades since I've _seen_ their faces, but still."

"Well your speech made an impression on quite a few people," Cody remarked tucking his fists into his jacket pockets and Bonnie let her mind drift for second, wondering what this empowering words of wisdom were to his coven.

"And that goes both ways," Evan nodded through pursed lips, "you had one side packing up and embracing this new way of life and then the other half over there buckling down to chant their way out of their troubles, I wonder how that's going for them."

"Those elders do not like you – and I mean at all," Emma snorted, "we all heard some barbaric things growing up; you really don't fit the imaginary person I had imagined."

Bonnie noticed Kai's shoulders rose in a noncommittal gesture, scanning over the people around him taking in the excitable chatter and her eyes shifted left to the tall blonde who didn't seem to be speaking much but couldn't seem to tear her vision away from their new Gemini leader.

"Nah I was positive that if you ever clawed your way out of that place you'd have that long hair and bearded homeless look from going stir-crazy with no thoughts outside of revenge," Michael vocalized and AnnaLynne pursed her lips.

"I was like that for a while – minus the hobo look since I was blessed with this face the entire time I was there – but what I was really after was the power, which I got," Kai concluded with a triumphant smile, "so it all worked out in the end."

"Yeah but you're different now," AnnaLynne spoke up drawing in his attention, Bonnie's teeth clenching so tight watching them that her jaw hurt.

"Like you would know," Evan chimed in sarcastically and Kai took the moment to take a long sip of his drink.

"It's really just the physical aspect, you still probably wouldn't want to bump into me in a dark alley," he joked taking another swig and she stayed trained on AnnaLynne's profile, noting her eyes trail down his black button-up.

"Well we should probably get going, it looks like everyone's getting started with the tour," Emma announced turning their attention to the students grouping together and starting off down the main hall. "Do any of you have to go through this too?"

"No, thankfully," Caroline sighed, "we already trekked through that fun day last year."

"What about you?" AnnaLynne asked gazing at the guy standing a foot in front of her, Kai's line of view darting from her to Bonnie and she stifled her smile observing that his mask of being cool and collected was currently nowhere to be found.

"Well I already know my way around the college, but I guess technically it's my first day."

"Word, do you want to check the place out with us?" Cody asked taking a step back and pointing over his shoulder to the dissipating amount of people, the rest of them slowly starting to follow his lead.

"Yeah, sure," Kai responded turning his attention on Bonnie. "Are you sure you don't want to come? We can slip away from the tour guide and rediscover the place."

"Yes, that sounds like a great plan," Michael said pointing both index fingers at him as he walked backwards, "let's go hatch it."

Bonnie glanced over at blue eyes staring back at her, patiently waiting, and shifted to the girl that was standing a little too close to his side. "No, that's okay, go off with your coven and scour the place."

"Here! Here!" Evan cheered thrusting his hand in the air, "If you girls aren't doing anything later we should hang out, we rented out a place right off campus. It's awesome; a ton of space, plenty of rooms-"

"We're already in the process of getting a little shindig going tonight, breaking out from being new to the school _and_ town. We'll meet up with you later and fill you in on what's going on," Michael said through a flirtatious smile, all saying their goodbyes and retreating to the other side of the room, waiting for Kai.

"Well you better get going, I'll see you later," Bonnie said keeping her voice even and steady, glancing at both friends on either side of her before zoning in and stepping closer.

"Where can I find you when this is over?"

"I only have two classes so I'll be out by lunch."

"Okay, cool me too," Kai answered without hesitation provoking an arched brow to cross her face, "I told you I already know my way around, I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"Uh, well I didn't expect you to be here so Care and I were going to get something to eat since we're out around the same time."

"You should join us," she offered with a sly smile, "you can tell us how your first half day of college was before we all get ready for the party tonight."

Eyebrows rose in synchronization as everyone's head turned towards the bubbly blonde in a floral dress, one of the guys hollering for AnnaLynne to move her ass in the background. "You really want to go?"

"And get to know Kai's hot new Gemini friends better; why not? It could be fun. Do you want to meet us back here around three?"

"Sounds good," he responded leaning toward Bonnie and she jerked her head back instinctively, shaking it and letting out a frustrated sound.

"Sorry – habit," she replied sheepishly and he laughed softly, lifting her right hand to kiss the back of it.

"I'll see you soon."

Retreating to the scattered members awaiting their leader they were around the corner and out of sight within seconds, Bonnie's attention going to the eyes she could feel on her.

"So did you know the coven was coming to town?" Elena asked glancing from her to where they disappeared to, taking the moment of awkwardness to propel her feet forward out the front door to the correct building for her first class.

"I had no idea, but from the looks of it Kai seemed to be just as out of the loop. He told me when he went there for his leader ceremony that he made a bunch of changes and told them to leave Portland, so I guess a lot followed by his example and moved to wherever he was. Ashley was his friend from when they were little Gemini critters running around and she had a younger sister… Anna, who he just initiated in."

"Oh that's ironic, now the little sister is his age outer appearance-wise and doesn't seem to have trouble making herself at home. At least she seemed friendly, but that won't slow us down from investigating her tonight."

"Care-"

"She's right, we have to know what you're going to be dealing with," Elena nodded and slid her arm around Bonnie's. "This is my stop, but text me after lunch and I'll meet back up with you all before we head over."

Hugging her goodbye the two of them continued on for a few more minutes until they reached her first destination and enveloped Caroline in an embrace before heading inside. What should have been a productive first day was nothing but playing through that ten minute encounter from the moment AnnaLynne set her sights on Kai at the vending machine. Something about her body language rubbed Bonnie the wrong way – like they knew each other more than they let on, and that shadow of doubt ate away at her peace of mind until there was none of it left and apprehension took its seat. Her blood pressure was rising envisioning the girls fingers resting against Kai's wrist and over what little knowledge of spatial awareness she portrayed; running through scenarios they could have gotten into in their first altercation since he reappeared in her life up until what they could be doing at this very moment.

One class dragged into the next while Bonnie's mind drifted farther away from the task at hand into paranoia kick starting the incessant inner ramblings of wondering how this new circle of coven members would affect her and Kai's relationship and how she was going to react to it, or if it would potentially stop it before it began. Being a secluded person by nature she's found it more difficult over the years to let anyone in, and even when she does there is always that consistent level of privacy that goes hand-in-hand; whether it be over a friendship, a relationship, or with her own family. Bonnie felt like she had taken a huge step when she let her friends in on her secret romance – still enduring the counterblasts that came with it, but went through with it because she was ready and wanted them to know.

When it came to Kai's coven she didn't know anything about them but they seemed to be well-informed on her and her family, a red flag already being raised with concern and hesitation for not wanting to open up any farther. The group will be eager to know all about their new powerful leader of the Gemini Coven; the chaos he spread in the past, how the prison world was, what he plans to do next, his family, his friends… and if he has anyone in his life that is _more than friendly._ Feeling like that factor was out of her control shook the already rocky ground underneath Bonnie's feet disintegrating it altogether and left her freefalling down the rabbit hole passing by every worse-case scenario on the way.

"Earth to Bonnie," a light voice trickled through her eardrums checking beside her as she made her way down one of the paths to the main building, Caroline's perplexed expression snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, sorry I didn't see you."

"Didn't seem to hear me either, what's going on?"

"Just lost in thought," Bonnie admitted, not needing to go into detail for Caroline to know what she meant.

"Still thinking about earlier, or tonight? Whatever the case may be I know it has to do with a certain leader and his followers."

"They're not a cult," she commented through a roll of her eyes, her train of thought bouncing from one topic to next at a rapid pace.

"They ritually sacrifice sets of twins to see who will survive every generation; they're pretty cult-y. Do they do the whole _white robes and chanting_ spiel?"

"They do, actually," Bonnie laughed once under her breath, "I asked him the same thing. Their practices are ancient and traditional which is exactly what Kai is trying to eradicate; the oldest generation is not on board."

"Leave it to Kai to finally get his hands on what he's been dreaming about since he was a kid… just to change everything about it the first chance he gets."

"I would blame it on his impulsiveness but from what he told me he seems like he had it all pretty well thought out, and it's oddly beneficial for other people."

"Hm," Care hummed lightly in the back of her throat, "intriguing route for a narcissist. So how have things been going since that precious first date?"

Bonnie's smile widened hearing Care and Elena's squeals and stream of questions when she went into vivid detail on how their official first date went, the need to be filled up with liquid courage a necessity before she could even _think_ about discussing how the night ended.

"They've been… difficult," she let out trying to find the right word glancing over to her edgy expression. "So after, you know – _that night ,_ I needed a couple of days to recuperate and when I was all ready to go I went to go to the bathroom first… and had my period."

"Ooh," Caroline breathed in understanding, "so you haven't since-"

"Nope, no I have not, and since I wouldn't let him touch me he thought it would be _hilarious_ to do the same but we still torment each other and thus this has turned into one of the longest weeks of my life. And then as fate would have it this knockout model strolls into the room that just so happens to be someone who's going to become closer to Kai; I'm just having a rollercoaster start to this New Year."

"That's how you know you're living," Caroline reasoned pulling her into a hug, "it wouldn't be real if there wasn't a dose of drama coming at you at every turn. Are you almost at the end of it?"

"I'm so close," Bonnie said through gritted teeth, thinking back to a few hours earlier when she almost gave in feeling Kai's stiffness through his jeans as he had her pinned to the wall.

"Maybe you should take charge before the party tonight, give him a taste of who's boss," she said leaning back shining brightly, "being able to _tame_ the bad boy – God I miss Klaus sometimes."

Laughing at herself and her comment Bonnie felt a blanket of warmth settle over her keeping the worry of how this lunch would go trapped underneath it from being reminded of how close Caroline had gotten to the #1 villain around the world.

"Do you ever think about visiting him, or what would happen if he showed up back around here?"

"I'm envisioning it being a little more awkward showing up with his _old buddy – slash – new frenemy_ as my boyfriend. But other than that I can still picture him courting me as I tear him down with my words, as per usual."

"Boyfriend," she repeated in a higher octave, "that's the first time I've heard you say it out loud."

"I had to be sure first; even when I went through everything to finally date him before the whole domino effect of me flipping my switch there was something still holding me back, a part of me that was afraid to admit what I hoped for was _actually_ coming true. It wasn't until the plane ride home that everything sunk in and I knew how I much I loved him, what he'd sacrificed for me, and the reality of how far we'd go for each other. After that I just wanted him and everyone else to know how important he is to me, and you know, obviously claim him as my own." she concluded through a flirtatious wiggle of her eyebrows, "which brings me over to you; do you plan on marking your territory in front of a certain new girl in town?"

"I don't know – and gross, by the way, that wasn't disturbing to imagine at all. Of course there's that part of me that wants her to know he's not just up for grabs to whatever pair of long legs walk through the door, but then there's the other side that doesn't want anyone in his coven to know, at least not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because they already seem to know too much about me and my family and I don't know _anything_ about them other than they're in Kai's Gemini inner circle. I feel like I just got the words out to tell you all and these people are strangers to me."

"Wow, you've given a lot of thought to this since this morning."

"Way too much," Bonnie agreed, "I'm really torn on what to do."

"Just talk to him about it, there's a good chance he'll go along with whatever you prefer –that's if he didn't spill the beans already during orientation," Care brought up and she felt her heart sink a little farther, "but even if you don't want to publicly vocalize he's not for sale, there's still ways to go about getting the message across behind closed doors."

"I can't have sex with him yet."

"Who said anything about all that? I'm talking about something equally if not more _up close_ and _personal_ , that only you're allowed to do," she suggested and Bonnie tried to regulate her breathing from openly discussing their private life with her best friend.

"I told you – I've made moves, he shoots them down."

"So don't give him the chance, be the man in charge," Caroline summed up enthusiastically and she forced a sound of entertainment out of her throat pushing through her sexual frustration.

"But Kai's such a jackass," she whined throwing her head back with eyes closed and felt toned arms wrap around her waist.

"Did I hear my name?" A deep voice cooed from behind her, turning her head to Kai's bright smile, "Great things, I presume."

"You know we were just standing here debating who would be deemed more of a saint; you or Ghandi," Care remarked overemphasizing her hand gestures, "It's a close race."

"Well Mr. _non-violence_ was put out of his misery by being assassinated so I think I have a fighting chance in that debate," Kai rebutted earning a toothy grin from her friend, wrapping his arms around tighter before unfolding them. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, but you and Care both drove here this morning."

"It's okay, I will run the risk of leaving my car here for an hour or two to take a ride in that Lamborghini," she said with a hand raised and eyes closed, looking like she was doing them a grand favor, "if I end up never coming back for it, so be it."

"Have I not taken you for a spin in it yet?" Kai asked cocking his head to the side breaking out in a mischievous grin, setting off towards the parking lot. "Oh this should be fun, I hope you didn't have a set destination around here to eat because we have to let her stretch her legs on the highway to show off her skills."

"Are you referring to your car as a woman?"

"Get up close and tell me she isn't one sexy piece of work," he retorted raising an eyebrow, looking over Bonnie's head to Caroline on the other side. "And once you get inside it'll be all over."

"Is it true Bonnie, does it get your heart racing and blood pumping?" she inquired wanting her to play along and glared briefly in her direction, Kai's reaction one of pure joy waiting for her response when she turned her head and figured – why not.

"Better than anything else," Bonnie stated staring up into his playful eyes as he looked over her face and heard a high-pitched trickle of laughter coming from her right side.

"My ride tends to have that effect on you," Kai remarked casually without a hint of cockiness in his voice, her jaw unhinging as it hit the ground while Caroline fell into a fit of giggles until they made it to the sleek, all black sports car with red accentuates on the tires, near the gas tank and inside the interior.

"You can ride up front," Bonnie said over her shoulder opening the passenger door and pulling back the seat, sliding into the back for the first time and relaxing with a sigh into the plush cushions. "Have you tested out the seats back here, they're fantastic."

"You bet I did," Kai said sliding the key into the ignition humming as it purred to life and reversed out of the spot gliding through the lot onto the main road. "I was sitting in every spot on day one; I had to see what I was working with and if the back was up to the par with the front, happy to report that it passed the inspection with flying colors."

"So do you have a name for this hot new ride?" Care asked rolling down the window facing her palm forward for the wind to hit it.

"I _haven't_ ," Kai vocalized sounding appalled with himself, "Why there hasn't been more brainstorming on that matter is incomprehensible."

"Well let's fix that right now."

Turning left onto the highway they spent the majority of the ride throwing out possible titles for the cars identity, Bonnie listening more than participating to the easy flow streaming between the two of them and smiled wider every time they got off track onto a new topic which happened on more than one occasion. During one of their abrupt changes Caroline spotted a sign for _Friendly's_ and pointed at it with flailing arms catching both her and Kai's attention.

"I remember _Friendly's!_ I used to go there all the time during high school with other kids and have ice cream sundae tournaments."

"Let me guess, you did terribly," Bonnie said in a coy tone, looking over his shoulder to wink at her.

"If you call being the _undefeated champ_ terrible – then yeah, I was the equivalent to being the last kid picked in gym class."

"Wait is that the reason why you bite your ice cream instead of licking it?"

Dissolving into laughter Caroline's head turned to Kai who was also vibrating with humor nodding as he turned off the exit. "Yes, yes that is why – also why I'm so prone to brain freezes since I was stuck in that eternal state for four years. But to this day I have not come up against a single other person who can eat that 12 scoop sundae by themselves, so I'd say the pain was well worth the victory."

"You ate that entire thing? I can barely finish the regular 2 or 3 scoops and have to share the ones in the bigger dishes."

"Kai could eat any helping you put in front of him," Bonnie said thinking back to all of the meals they've shared, "I've seen him put a serious dent in feast-worthy dinners, and that's him without the adrenaline of a competition."

"Food is my passion," Kai remarked and the statement was the perfect description for his relationship with everything edible.

"How did you always stay so skinny then? I mean not now… obviously, and you couldn't change in the prison world but it sounds like you should have been tipping in closer 200 than 100."

"Thank you so much for telling me I looked like a scrawny hundred pound kid when you first met me," he said with an overly sweet smile looking over to her when they stopped at the light. "That really hits all of the key points I was aiming for."

"And what were you trying to portray with this?" Care asked gesturing to his profile.

"Oh, this? This was the ' _I merged with the wrong sibling so my body freaked out and gave me a whole new style'_ look; is that too subtle?"

"Completely," she said straight-faced playing along and the banter back and forth was calming the raging storm inside her that surfaces every time Kai is within the vicinity of one of Bonnie's friends.

Turning into the parking lot they pulled up in front of the door and observed the sets of eyes from inside craning to look at the car while they pointed and whispered amongst each other. "People just can't seem to get enough of me."

"Yeah that's what it is," Bonnie said rolling her eyes back and waited for Caroline to get out before pushing the seat out of her way and making her way to the front door.

"Hi! Table for three?"

"Yes, thank you," she greeted following the hostess to a booth, sliding into one side with Care close behind sitting across from her and Kai sat down pressing the side of his thigh against hers.

"Here are your menu's, and your waitress should be by momentarily," the woman reported and retreated back to the front of the building.

"I'm getting the cotton candy drink," he said wiggling around in the seat, "even when I just came in for ice cream I would still get that too, it's delectable."

"I told you that's the best one," Caroline chirped turning her attention to Kai, "she always gets the Shirley temple."

"But you can get a Shirley temple anywhere."

"Exactly!"

"See we just understand each other."

"Oh, great," Bonnie remarked, "just what I always wanted; you and my best friend to gang up on me."

"That's good to know," Kai nodded and she leaned over bumping the side of his arm, copying her movement and nudging her forehead with his. "I was personally always a fan of a little witty banter between comrades."

"Don't I know it."

"Hi, I'm Juliette I'll be your waitress today, can I start you off with something to drink."

Kai's head turned towards her to order first, then Caroline, and finished with an overly ambitious ' _cotton candy drink with extra cherries!'_. Already knowing what they were going to get for a meal along with it the woman jotted down everything in full before walking away.

"Some days I really don't know how old you are," Bonnie commented looking him over, his euphoric stare connecting with hers and watched the grin spread slowly.

"A man-child with the mind of an adolescent," Kai reminisced replaying her words back with a wink, shifting over to Care resting her chin against her entwined fingers watching them.

"That's pretty funny – and fitting. Which reminds me, why _did_ you really want to enroll at Whitmore; just to keep an eye on our little _Bonita?"_

"Can I call you that? A little bit of _Bonita spice?_ " he asked with a gleeful grin, Bonnie's squinted glare sufficing as an answer. "I'd be lying if I said you weren't a large dose of why I'm here, but I've actually always been curious about college. The twins were born right after high school – AKA when my world began crumbling, so I never got the chance to see what it was like and then when Bon said she was going back I figured I'd see what all the fuss was about."

"I'm sure things have gotten more exhilarating since the 90's, this whole ' _age of technology_ ' we're living in. Plus the parties and themed weeks are kick ass people get pretty into it."

"That's what I'm hoping for, going all out and painting my chest and face while I run around getting everyone hyped."

"The ultimate frat guy."

"Oh the world does not need that," Bonnie laughed through a shake of her head, "he's already got the personality down, I can imagine the escalation being around all the like-minded individuals."

"Hmm, that could be interesting," Kai murmured in consideration, a quick flash of drunk girls fawning all over him hitting her with uneasiness as the waitress stopped by with their drinks.

"You think you'd be able to take orders from a pledge leader?" she inquired with a tilt of her head, "Doing whatever they wanted, embarrassing yourself, and being at the bottom of the totem pole?"

"Ironic," Caroline mused, "the coven leader having one of his own."

"Yeah I'm not too keen on listening to others."

"Oh really, I would have never guessed," Bonnie mocked through fake shock, "and here I was thinking you were nothing but a pushover."

"Maybe when it comes to you," he breathed looking over her face making her insides warm, "but that's the exception."

"What about your new friends," Caroline perked shifting their line of view across the table, "what's the story with them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know they were coming?"

"Nope."

"None of them?" she asked squinting one eye with scrutiny, looking over to Kai's eyebrows draw in, "Not even a perky young blonde that was excited to see you?"

"Anna," he chuckled, "I had a friend growing up in the coven – Ashley, and she is her little sister. I told Ash to move over here during my ceremony and they were in the process of actually heading over but I asked her if she would be my right hand man to keep an eye on the things that I can't – like Liam Walsh – so she decided it'd be best to stay there. Apparently Anna didn't get the memo and moved here to live with her friends."

"She must have been just a baby when you knew her," Caroline commented fishing for information.

"She was five in '94, so not a baby but still just a kid," Kai agreed and Bonnie's mouth watered seeing a plate of food being placed in front of her, not waiting before swiping half of the crispy chicken wrap up and humming when it hit her taste buds. "I'm a little surprised she even remembers me."

"I guess you have one of those faces," she said through a mouthful of fry, picking up one of the grilled cheese halves to bite into the middle.

"I bet it's from hearing all of those wonderful stories about me growing up, I do tend to leave an impression."

"It must be because of your humbleness," Care nodded and he snickered through his mouthful of a barbeque chicken bacon melt.

"Ah yes, one of my more prominent traits. So did you two really want to check out their place tonight? Evan said they rented out this six-bedroom suite right off campus."

"Lucky them, I'm sharing a room with two other people and _one bathroom_ ," she stressed and Bonnie's eyes darted between both people, Kai hearing the news of her choice to spend some nights at the dorm only the night prior. "And we're definitely going."

"Well, wanting to get the whole college experience I may have booked myself a single for the year, so if you're feeling cramped feel free to stop by," he grinned, tilting his face towards Bonnie's expression of sheer befuddlement. " _That's an open invitation."_

"So first you show up at school saying you enrolled, and now you're telling me you're going to be living there too?"

"Only sometimes, the guys offered up their spare bedroom too if I wanted it but I don't think I can handle being around that many people all the time. Besides, It'll be more fun to sneak you into my dorm in the middle of the night," Kai purred leaning in closer sending a chill down the side of her neck, copying his movement before remembering where she was and jerked her head back staring over at Caroline's smile.

"Oh don't stop on my behalf, this is all new and exciting for me too. Bonnie was never huge on the PDA with Jer."

"Hmm," Kai rumbled through his glee and nipped at the side of her neck making her squeal and push away laughing, "happy to hear that's not just towards me."

"I had a fairly good reason seeing how nobody knew about us, and I didn't really take you for the ' _openly affectionate_ type'."

"I didn't think I was one either, if that means anything," he smirked as Bonnie replayed the glimpses she saw into his past while he was with Gabby, specifically when they were groping each other backstage of the auditorium.

"There's just something about Bonnie," Care pepped biting the cherry off of its stem, "makes you want to pounce on her in the middle of a crowded room."

"I think we're going to get along great," Kai remarked dipping his fry in ketchup and biting it through his cheeky grin. "You actually remind me of Ash a little bit."

"Your old friend?"

"My only friend," he clarified making both girls let out a sound of humor, "we spent most of our days trying to out-wit the other."

"Did you two ever end up testing out the waters, seeing what would happen?" she asked with a curiosity, Bonnie's insides feeling like they were burning listening to her friend dig deeper into Kai's mind and he shook his head through his closed mouth full of chicken.

"We've been in the coven together since we were playing in the sandbox, I grew up making her eat dirt pies; she was like the little sister I would have tolerated having."

"But you had younger sisters…"

"I stand by my statement, which makes it so weird now seeing her being the older one by a significant number of years," he remarked finishing off the last of his sandwich and moving on to what was left of his fries, Bonnie glancing down at her half eaten wrap and pile of fries left over. "I should spell a mud pie and send it over that will explode when she opens it, just for the good ol' times."

"If you do it you have to tell me what she sends back," Care snorted, "my guess will be a magical punch to the face."

"Or maybe a never-ending supply of sand," Bonnie suggested, "more down the path of payback."

"Yeah that sounds more like her, I'll let you know the final verdict whenever I receive my package back," Kai concluded looking devious as ever, the waitress stopping by with boxes in hand for any leftovers and dropped off the ice cream menus for them to look over. "I want the Jim Dandy."

"One of the biggest things on here, shocking," Bonnie murmured with a sweet smile, Kai's expression shifting to copy hers.

"Are you suggesting I'm overcompensating?" he wondered causing a rise out of the girl on the other side of the table and she bit her lip hiding the tantalizing gleam over the knowledge that there were _no_ shortcomings that he would need to make up for in bed, her cheeks inflamed delving into their intimacy. "You can be honest with me."

"Nope, not what I was implying," slipped through her lips with as much casualness as she could muster, Kai lighting up just as the waitress came back to rescue her from both pairs of eyes staring at her like laser beams.

"An ice cream sundae – so plain," he remarked over Bonnie's order, "at least miss ' _piles of gummy bears in her Friend-Z'_ went a little more out of the box. Why the gummy bears, by the way?"

"Have you ever had them on ice cream?"

"Hm, I guess I haven't."

"Then that's why you don't understand," Care shrugged earning a sly grin from him, "you'll see soon, it'll blow your mind."

"There's something you _haven't_ eaten?" Bonnie asked through a fake gasp, "Now I've heard it all."

"I'm sure I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve," Kai smirked moving his hand under the table to trace a line from her knee to thigh with his fingertip, keeping completely still so Caroline didn't notice anything suspicious.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

Shifting his head away with a grin he started up another conversation while his fingers danced across her skin, Bonnie's hormones spiking as she pushed away every provocative thought until their dessert arrived. Diving into the hot fudge sundae face first she moved the cherry before her tongue flicked off some of the dollop of whipped cream like she always does and felt Kai's eyes on her, looking over to his stony expression that ironically was giving his thoughts away. Curving one side of her mouth Bonnie swiped through it with her index finger and slowly drew the tip into her mouth watching his eyes darken scanning between her lips and eyes, vivid images of Kai coming at her with a can of whipped cream while she was tied to the bed arising causing her momentary blindness.

Forcing her head to turn she looked across the table to her best friend staring at the both of them with a smile split from ear to ear, scooping a spoonful of gummy bears into her mouth and doing a subtle but visible wiggle of delight. Focusing her attention on the sundae Bonnie aimed to block out his penetrating gaze by taking her time and savoring every bite; the hot fudge, the vanilla ice cream, the cherry on top, and especially the topping that was seemingly affecting Kai more after each lick of her spoon. By the time she reached the end Caroline was watching him and he was watching Bonnie, the tight grip around her thigh making her cross her legs to relieve the pressure and blew out her held breath when the waitress came back with their check moving his hand to grab his wallet and felt a bubble of humor rising seeing her friend dumbfounded still holding her card out as the woman retreated to the back with just Kai's in hand.

"Um…"

"What?"

"She left without my card that was rude."

"Because she has mine."

"But she doesn't have _mine,_ " Care stressed and the lightbulb went off as Kai's laughter spilled out.

"Oh you thought you were paying? That's adorable."

"Excuse me-"

"I wouldn't waste your time arguing about it with him – it does nothing," Bonnie expressed dropping her chin into her palm. " _Trust me;_ I've talked myself in circles."

"It's true, but it's still entertaining to watch," he persuaded.

"How do you even have money after all this time, I know you don't have a part-time job anywhere."

"Wow, for a group of supernatural beings you all seem to be pretty narrow minded on how the world works. Where is your creativity? I'm like Superman now, or Loki, but I'd respond to Ra's al Ghul too if we're throwing out favorites," he vocalized looking up in thought.

"A fan of comic books?" Care pepped bringing his vision back down to her smile, copying it.

"Comics, shows; whatever was revolved around it up until '94 I had stored away somewhere in that Boarding House," he revealed to the both of them, Bonnie knowing he read comics growing up but unaware of how deeply his infatuation went and it lit up her mood.

"Mr. big bad coven leader that everyone fears is really a hidden nerd anxiously awaiting the next _Comic-Con._ "

"What's _Comic-Con?_ " Kai asked curiously, looking over her face, "when is it – can we go?"

Both girls fell into a fit of laughter over his bouncing enthusiasm and barely registered the woman coming back with his card wishing them a nice day, sliding out of the booth and into the backseat of the car as her ribs hurt from Kai's inquisition.

" _Yes_ , I will go to California with you when it rolls back around this summer… I promise. Now try this before I eat all of the gummies."

"Even if Bon refuses to come with us?" Kai specified revving the engine and reached for the cup scooping up a huge clump as Care looked over her shoulder to the back.

"Oh she's coming with us, but yes, even then."

"Sweet, and that's actually really good," he beamed handing her back the ice cream and pulling out of the parking lot onto the main road, speeding up the moment he hit the highway.

They had made it back to Mystic in half of the time thanks to Kai's need to break the speed limit and show off every chance he got and pulled up beside her lonely car, stepping out to hug her goodbye.

"Cody said they live right around here," Kai announced leaning across the middle to look at them out the open door, "but we have to drive over anyway so I can pick you and Elena up if you want, minimal walking involved."

"Great, thank you. What time should we expect you?" she asked and he looked over to Bonnie for the answer.

"Well what time did they say people were going over?"

"Around 8, or maybe it was 9."

"Let's make it 9 to be safe," she concluded and hugged her tight. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun," Caroline whispered quietly looking back at her holding in her jubilation before she pivoted and unlocked the car door settling inside.

"So we've got about four hours to kill before we have to be around anyone again," Kai soothed in a soft tone, looking over to her while he drove and slid his fingers over hers to clasp them, "however shall we pass the time?"

"I'm sure we'll come up with something," Bonnie purred back, her worthy opponent not the only one that has a few mischievous ploys waiting to be executed.


	30. Chapter 30

Ten minutes into being back at Sheila's and Kai knew Bonnie was up to something by the way she was evading him with come-hither glances as she sauntered from room to room.

"What are you up to?" he asked through squinted eyes, holding the door frame to the bedroom over his head blocking her path out.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what's your angle; I can tell you're thinking about something in particular in that deviant mind, care to share with the class?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I guess I could bring something out for show and tell," Bonnie suggested looking him over and his fingers gripped the wood swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Oh yeah, what do you want to show me?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," she breathed in a low tone stepping towards him to press her palm against his stomach and pushed gently until he stepped back and dropped his hands, the door slowly closing in front of him.

Refusing to move from the spot Kai looked around the empty narrow hall and leaned against the wall so the door was on his right and the bathroom was on his left, humming the Jeopardy music until the door opened again; all of his blood heading south in an instant. Not knowing what to expect he was genuinely unprepared for the sight in front of him and heard the deep vibrations rumbling in the back of his throat. Bonnie stood in front of him wearing a black corset that was a mixture between leather and lace; the leather covering her breasts and center of her stomach all strung up between her chest pulling them tight while her skin was visible underneath a floral lacey design over her hips, sides, and upper thighs with the same material panties.

"What… are you doing?" Kai managed to get out in a voice so deep it sounded foreign.

"I just wanted to show you a little something I got while we were in Paris; you like?" she asked in a coveted tone, spinning slowly so he could see every inch of her through the lace and stepped forward landing an inch in front of her when she faced him again.

"That's a hell of an understatement, but why are you showing me this now?" he rushed out not able to keep his eyes still as he raked over her small and curvy frame, his fingers twitching at his sides as his dick grew harder.

"Because it's been a long week, and I want to have some fun," echoed in Kai's ears darting up to Bonnie's lustful gaze and didn't register that she moved past him until she was halfway down the hall, chasing after as she turned the corner into the kitchen.

Standing in the doorway across the room he watched as Bonnie made her way leisurely to the fridge grabbing something inside before turning with the item behind her back, stalking back towards him with deliberate steps. Shoving his hands into his back pockets to prevent him from yanking her forward Kai's eyes never left hers even though every part of him was begging to drink in the scene playing out in front of him, his body heat rising sensing what little proximity was between them. Inhaling deeply through his nose his upper half involuntarily swayed into her when Bonnie's face appeared in front of his and heard her quiet laughter through a sigh.

"You're fighting so dirty, if you think I won't tackle you to the floor right now you're giving me way too much credit," Kai let out with honesty, the small smile passing her lips making his heart beat faster and pressed his back to the doorframe attempting to gain an ounce of control over himself.

"You won't," Bon replied simply, sliding one hand down his chest magically undoing the buttons until the shirt hung open loosely and the other stayed behind her back, "because you can't."

"And what makes you say that?" he asked in a husky tone feeling every muscle strain in anticipation as her fingers slid over the center of his stomach hooking them into his jeans.

"Because I asked you not to," she said with sweetness contradictory to her actions and it was almost as if an invisible binding spell wrapped around him making it physically incapable to proceed.

"That's not fair you can't say ' _don't touch me_ ' and then wear something I want to tear off of you," he expressed lifting a hand out of his pocket to drag it down his cheek, "I'm not known for having much self-control; I see something and I react."

"And is that what you want to do now – _react_?" she wondered sliding her finger along the little patch of hair below his bellybutton, better referred to as his ' _happy trail_ '."

"Yes," he answered through clenched teeth moving his hand up higher to grip the top of his head, her eyes shifting to his bent arm and slid her palm over the front of his jeans huffing when the button popped open. "Bon I don't know if I can do what you're asking."

"I think you can do anything you set your mind to," she whispered pressing her chest into his to lean towards his ear and felt a cold shiver go down his neck, needing to close his eyes to block out his impulsiveness.

By the time he pried them open Bonnie was in the hallway to his right and moved pressing his hand on the opposite wall before she could retreat back to the room. "What's in your hand?"

"Something for the bedroom."

"Show me."

"I will… in about three steps," she specified looking off to the side where the door was.

"I can't make it that far."

"You're so impatient."

"And curious, so just put me out of my misery."

"Do you promise to behave?"

"Not a chance," he chortled and she made the same sound of amusement.

"Okay, how about over listening to what I say?" Bon asked through feigned innocence fluttering her eyelashes and he groaned out in frustration momentarily hanging his head.

"If I let you walk into the room before you show me can we demolish that rule?" Kai asked in high hopes getting immediately shut down by her alluring expression. "I don't want to throw out a promise that I don't mean."

"Then mean it," she stated as if it was obvious and he pursed his lips.

"I promise that right now, here, in this moment, I won't have sex with you, and that no part of me will touch you there – but I _will_ be touching you," Kai declared stating his actions and she bit her bottom lip, "sound fair?"

Looking to the ceiling Bonnie's eyes rolled around in consideration before they abruptly stopped, her mouth just beginning to curve up at the sides before her arm shifted hearing the sound of an air canister as whipped cream sprayed in his face. Darting under his arm one leg made it through the entrance before Kai snaked his arm around her waist pulling her into him and slammed her backside into the wall pressing his stomach into hers wiping his face against hers to get her equally covered in frozen treats. Smiling at Bonnie's giggles and squeals he licked up her cheek getting a mouthful of tasty goodness and devoured her sounds gliding his tongue over hers hearing her mewl into his mouth.

Ripping his shirt off his shoulders and halfway down his arms Kai did the rest of the work and felt a tug around his hips before she ducked out of sight feeling his boxers and jeans pushed down to his ankles, throwing a hand out to the wall to catch himself as a hoarse sound crept up his throat. Sliding his left hand through Bonnie's hair and around the side of her neck his fingers brushed underneath her chin cupping it with his thumb and ring finger on either side tilting her head up, waiting until her eyes flicked up to his. The moment they connected her lips parted letting out a puff of air and Kai's body tensed into a farther pent-up state repeating internally that he can't just take her up against the wall here and now… even though he could.

Tingles spread up his leg and thigh from nails scratching lightly and Bonnie looked down beside her moving her head out of his hand, jumping at both the exponentially booming sound of the whipped cream nozzle and the sudden coldness at the tip of his dick. Staring down through heavy lids Kai observed as the dollop became hidden from sight feeling Bonnie's warm lips encase just the head and swirled her tongue making him push in farther without volition. Drawing him back out his chest was rising quicker through each harsh inhale and felt another cool blast going from root to base, the impish grin spreading wide as she pulled down his throbbing erection to flick the tip of her tongue over some of the dessert. Letting out a jagged sound from her just barely putting her mouth on him Bonnie tilted him back up and slid over his underside hitting every vein along the way before taking him back in. A guttural huskiness broke through Kai's vocal cords watching the white cream spread across her upper lip every time she retreated back to take in more of him and the imagery caused spots to appear in his vision.

The gentle warmth that he was receiving was making him react in a polar opposite effect, the intensity so strong he wanted to hold onto it and ran his hand back through her hair gripping down at the roots. Stopping her actions Bonnie held perfectly still keeping him at her mercy while enjoying every minute of it and guided her to let him in deeper, the vibrations in her throat enticing him and lost his breath witnessing not only the struggle she seemed to be having getting him to fit but also that it wasn't slowing her down in any way. Scratching at his inner thighs one hand wrapped around the base before the other traveled lower cupping and massaging his balls and Kai drove forward knocking her backside into the wall, gritting out a ' _sorry_ ' before he repeated the motion with a touch less force.

Feeling the loss of any restraint or composure left within him he began rocking into Bonnie's mouth, not asking her to push past what she could handle and every part of him was rock hard with need as sweat glistened down his chest and stomach watching the girl he can't get enough of on her knees in front of him for the sole purpose of wanting to please him. Rasping out her name in a graveled voice her hand slid back underneath the most sensitive spot on his body rubbing and caressing and what little blood left in Kai's head was rushed out hitting him with an acute wave of wooziness and dropped his temple onto the bicep that was still outstretched holding him up against the wall. Even with his pulse yammering in his eardrums he could still hear the beastly grunts and groans spilling out of his slacked-jaw and kneaded at the back of her skull with shaking fingers, the weight of his dead arm dropping from the wall and sliding down her back raking his nails when he went up.

Lifting herself higher Bonnie's jaw loosened and inched deeper until he felt the tug of resistance cease and slid down her throat, a harsh expletive escaping through a winded breath. Pulling her down quickly one palm flew up next to her mouth in a motion to stop and Kai's entire frame tightened and shook, teeth clenched feeling like he couldn't move or he'd set off his forceful impulsiveness. Moving his hand out of her hair and reaching for the small table beside them his grip on the handle was strong enough to snap it in half and the noise scared Bonnie, her throat and hand cupping him tightening being what shattered him and moaned through choppy breaths vibrating through a climax.

Blinking through the lights flashing in his vision soft kisses went up his torso and observed Bonnie staring at her hand as it slid over his heart, nudging her forehead with his to look at him and stepped closer caging her against the wall when she didn't. With his palms flat beside her Kai's chest rising and falling in hoarse pants was the only part of him that was moving and waited until murky dilated green orbs peeked up; her eyes darting between his with flushed face and parted lips displaying an expression of bashfulness. Reading her trying to scrutinize what he's thinking the beating in his chest thudded heavily remembering what little experience she's had with this and seeing first-hand how willing she is to push out of her comfort zone, the knowledge bringing forth a small smile.

Moving his hands behind her back Bonnie was lifted with ease above his bellybutton and wrapped her legs and arms around him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck to shield her face. Gliding his fingers across her bare skin Kai's thumb and middle finger curled around the back of her neck brushing his lips down her cheek and pulled her in closer for a hug squeezing him back. Nipping at her jaw Bonnie dug deeper into his muscles tucking out of sight and he needed to change that as quickly as possible, pushing off the wall and striding into the room sprawling her across the bedspread to tower over her.

A glossy and alluring gaze stared back at him when Kai slid his hand behind her waist rocking her scarcely covered pelvis up into his and kept her suspended grinding forward being provoked by the repressed groan surging out of her. Raking her fingers over his scalp he witnessed a shift pass through Bonnie's eyes and the need to know what she was thinking was driving him mad. Kai can admit with certainty that one of the most mind-numbing traits he's picked up since getting slammed with a dose of humanity is this pathetic feeling of nervousness that overcomes him every time he's in Bonnie's presence that spikes at over the most absurd things.

One incessant bother is that he's always left wondering what's on Bonnie's mind; if it's about him, if she's comfortable around him or could there still that lingering doubt of fear in the back of her mind, does she question if she really wants to be with him, and a list of other ' _what if's'_ that he had never given an ounce of thought to before merge-day that now won't seem to leave his brain. Growing up Kai had been known with a well-defended title of being _the charmer_ of the group and took great merriment in that because it was something that came naturally to him. Never giving much thought over why he was so smooth the answer came crashing into his life like a meteor decades after the question had been asked when he stood frozen in the middle of a church incapable of moving or speaking the instant he zoned in on Bonnie.

Up until that moment Kai had never felt a real ' _this will affect the way you live your life_ ' connection with anyone – friend, family, or female – thus giving him the power to not care about what people thought of him and in return expressed it by saying whatever was on his mind, no matter what the cost. Once he was blasted with his own form of kryptonite his original mindset and perspective began pulling apart at the seams, engulfing him with feelings Kai's never had to endure before and amplifying the more dominant traits; a few being his possessiveness, impulsiveness, and paranoia. Being around Bonnie was something that used to come easy because he enjoyed her company but now it's almost as if it's a _need_ and each time he fulfills it he has to have more, and _more._

"Hey Mr. _Deep in thought_ ," gently trickled through his subconscious and blinked coming into view with Bonnie's unguarded gaze, her nails scratching at the stubble on the side of his jaw, "don't get me wrong – the quiet smoldering look is one of my personal favorites, but what's on your mind?"

"You," he replied leaning down to kiss her nose, "wondering how long it'll be before I can tear you out of this sexy little number; how is now looking?"

Turning her head to let out a light and bubbly sound Kai moved to her exposed neck sucking and biting playfully with just enough pressure to get a reaction and grinned hearing her laugh blend into a moan tightening her grip on the back of his head.

"Kai, you know-"

"That you can't, I'm just kidding," he murmured pecking across her cheek looking into a pair of dark and inviting eyes, "well, sort of."

Sealing his lips over hers before Bonnie could respond his fingers ran across the lace onto the leather and cupped her breasts, squeezing and kneading through the material making her arch off the bed into him. Gliding his hands restlessly over her body his extreme nakedness was becoming more apparent through each wiggle and adjustment she made and inwardly cursed at his hard underside sliding against her wet panties, the thought of how easy it would be to slip inside crossing his mind. As if she could read what he was thinking Kai thrust forward when teeth grazed his bottom lip biting down and a growl rumbled deep in his chest dragging his nails on her outer thigh.

"But you don't know how much I want to," Bonnie whispered against his cheek shooting straight through him twisting around his heart.

"If it's a fraction of what I'm feeling then I think I have a pretty good idea," Kai uttered groggily, the change in his tone giving away how much he craved her and hung his head staring at her outfit. "I can't believe you even brought out a naughty costume, I didn't stand a chance."

"I know," she giggled lightly through a smile, "that was kind of the whole point."

"Oh really?" he asked lifting his head hearing Bonnie admit this strategy was premeditated and done knowing he wouldn't be able to turn her down. "I'll have to return the favor."

"That's okay."

"Yep."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."

"But you _really_ don't need to trouble yourself."

"Mm no trouble at all," Kai mumbled dragging his nose up her neck and cheek breathing her in, her pulse leaping against his lips. "Nervous?"

"Mildly," Bonnie let out in a shaky voice and cleared her throat, pulling his head back to look over her timid expression, "but I can handle it."

"We'll see," he winked curling his fingers around the back of her neck to kiss her and leaned back pulling her with him not breaking contact until he was standing. Peering down at her Kai drank in one last look and exhaled slowly, knowing he had to remove himself from the room before he physically couldn't. "I can't keep looking at you and not break my promise so I'm going to take a cold shower… for about an hour, and then maybe I'll be able to see straight again. But just a fair warning, if you're still wearing this by the time I get out then what happens next is on you."

Striding out of the room he made it a point not to look back at Bonnie in fear it would stop him from leaving and crossed the hall into the bathroom bee-lining it for the icy waterfall that awaits him.

xx

Kai was still lost in a vivid daydream of the sexual onslaught Bonnie put on him earlier as he zipped up his dark faded loose-fitting denim jeans with big pockets down the side of his legs like his old cargo shorts and pushed his arms through a black t-shirt that seemed too small for his buff exterior as the sleeves didn't even cover a third of his biceps. Tucking his chain underneath he turned to head downstairs and jolted slightly seeing Bonnie hovering at the top of the flight of stairs in jeans and a tunic dress, white at the top and fading down to a blackish gray with blue and black swirls along the bottom and down the middle of her chest; his alarm fading and walked towards her with a smile.

"Aren't you an eager beaver."

"Kai I have to talk to you about something," she began, the somber in her voice wiping away his humor, "and I'm not sure how you're going to respond to it."

"Okay," he said waiting for her to continue, "any time you're ready."

"I don't want your coven to know about us," Bonnie rushed through blowing out the excess breath and he chuckled not certain he heard her correctly.

"You're kidding," Kai remarked through a snort, feeling like the joke was on him when she looked away. "You're serious – we're really going to do this again?"

"It's not exactly the _same_ , and it won't be for as long I just want to wait a little."

"Why?"

"Because…" she hesitated looking over his face, "because I don't know them and yet they seem to know everything about me and my bloodline which kind of creeps me out. They're strangers to me."

"But it's my coven," he reasoned, "and they already seem to like you so it's not like they'd think less of you for dating me."

"That's not what I was saying," Bon said with a shake of her head, snapping her eyes back up to him, "wait are we dating?"

"That's a great question, do you want to answer it though because every time I think I know you do something that flips it all around. So, are we?" Kai inquired feeling his insides start to burn as his irritation fed off of his paranoia. "Do you even want to date me, Bonnie?"

"Yes," she responded instinctively, her eyes widening signifying she was surprised by her answer.

"Are you sure? Because I got to be honest sometimes I have a tough time believing you. Let's just reminisce for a moment; you'll hook up with me in secrecy, but fight tooth and nail to deny it and cover up any allegations thrown our way. You took a leap forward telling your friends about us, and now jumped ten steps back wanting to pretend that we're nothing – _again_. So what about tonight when we're around my coven and your best friends, how do you want me to act?"

"Like… yourself," Bonnie said quietly shrinking back and stepped around him moving farther into the attic near the small window keeping her back to him, "your normal goofy _pain in the ass_ self, just minus us being all touchy-feely."

"This is bullshit," he gritted and she spun back around, "you're so confusing it makes me believe I'm going crazy."

"I'm not saying that I don't want to be with you – I do," she said taking a step towards him, "I just want to meet them, get to know them a little first seeing how they know _everything_ about me. You have to admit that's a little unsettling. And not for nothing but _you_ don't even know these people so why should we throw all of our personal information out there and hand it to them on a silver platter? They don't know you any better than from the tales they've heard about you; do you really trust them enough to let them in?"

Kai could feel the glare he was throwing her way but he couldn't control it, Bonnie's logic – the very same that he always lived by – was somehow being used against him during this argument. The fact that it was _a girl_ that was having a major effect on his mentality and character changing bits and pieces of him and not what his father put him through his entire life had him forcing out a bleak sound mixed between humor and exasperation. Running his hand roughly through his hair Kai stared at the ground agreeing with her reasoning that he doesn't know these kids – pointing out his obvious flaw of not trusting anyone, and that he shouldn't show all of his cards so early in the game.

What got under his skin was that they were once again putting on a show for everyone that they don't care about each other, and the longer they wore the masks the more wary he became that Bonnie will want to revert into the role permanently. This _stomach-turning-knife-twisting_ pain that coursed through his system was filling Kai with insecurity bringing forth unwarranted and piercing inquisitions of if he deserved to be with her and that maybe she thought the same, the heavy internal interrogation something he's never had to endure before and it pissed him off.

"Fine," Kai uttered briskly crossing his arms over his chest and looking up from the floorboard, staring at her stony-faced.

"What?"

"Whatever you say, Bon," he brushed off, "you ready?"

Ogling at him as if he had two heads Bonnie's eyes turned into slits and pursed her lips, storming in his direction going for the stairs behind him and followed her down, slipping on his boots and scooping the keys on the way out. The ride over was one of utter silence, both feeling the tension simmering off of the other and gunned it to Whitmore pulling up outside of the dorm where Caroline and Elena stood.

"Wow you got here fast, I _just_ got off the phone with you," Caroline said laughing through the open passenger window. "What are you going to do when you get pulled over for doing a hundred in a school zone?"

"Charm my way out of it," Kai smirked and Bonnie hopped out of the front seat to pull it back so her friends could get in back, the place the coven was staying in no more than five minutes from the college.

The home looked spacious from the driveway; the brown exterior stretching wide all the way around with long rectangular windows and the roof was just like his old house filled with hips and valleys dipping to show small windows scattered throughout. Strolling up to the front door the loud cheering on the other side let him know the place was packed and didn't need to knock, turning the handle to a sea of people staring back at him. Gesturing for the girls to go first he saddled in behind Bonnie and followed them farther into the house walking through the kitchen loaded with alcoholic beverages and smiled seeing Anna behind the blender.

"Hey!" she beamed when she glanced up to hand someone a drink, "I'm so happy you all made it! Can I make you something? We have all of these options in front of me, and behind me, as well as any personal requests you might have."

"How about a Mad Hatter?" he suggested making the side of her lip curl.

"Coming right up."

Moving to get all the ingredients Kai's eyebrows rose at the white tank top belly shirt Anna was wearing, the material hugging her frame and stopped a couple of inches above her bellybutton with a long chain and large teardrop pendant hanging near her stomach. The light blue jeans were complete with a silver studded belt and large boots that he wasn't sure how they weren't falling off, the laces pulled apart and the tongue hanging down over the front. Turning to grab the shaker he noticed the back of it was connected by a zipper with three triangle cut outs on each side showing her skin, her long wavy hair only covering until where the shirt begins.

"What's in a Mad Hatter?" Elena asked leaning on the counter and Anna poured the liquid into a small square glass handing it off to her.

"Vodka, peach schnapps, and lemonade, with a sprits of Coke; see if you like it."

"That's pretty delicious," she hummed taking another sip passing it to Bonnie and Caroline to taste and new drinks were already being shaken, poured, and served until all of them were holding a glass.

"Here's to us all going mad," Kai said raising a glass in the air and heard wisps of cheer as others clanked theirs against his, throwing back the contents in one gulp.

"So do you guys want to check out the place? It's _so much bigger_ than what the pictures portrayed," Anna said with a bounce in her step walking in front of the girls going out of the open kitchen into an open living room surrounded by plush recliners and sofas with a flat screen and fireplace on the far left wall. Moving closer to the TV Kai spotted the patio doors on his right and pushed through adventuring into the backyard, his quest immediately halted by the massive in-ground pool filled with half-naked party-goers.

"Yo, you guys showed!" boomed from somewhere on the other side of the metal fence and looked over to Michael and Cody lifting themselves out of the water and grabbing their towels moving towards him, Michael speaking to someone over Kai's shoulder. "Want to go for a swim?"

"Do I look properly dressed to jump into a pool?" Bonnie remarked hearing the smile in her voice and kept his eyes on the guys in front of him, dropping the towel from his chest to show off for them.

"I live with two females who have half of their wardrobes consisting of bathing suits – I'm sure they'll have something for all of you."

"Even me?" Kai asked tilting his head and both of them laughed.

"I wouldn't put it past them but I think we could find something for you on our own."

"Maybe later," he shrugged, not entirely thrilled at the thought of Bonnie in a bikini acting single with college kids fawning all over her. "But don't let me stop the rest of you from getting in there."

"What do you ladies say?" Michael asked looking from one girl to the next with a smooth smile etched across his face.

"I'm more interested in the rest of this house," Bonnie vocalized, "we were just about to check it out but took a detour out here."

"Oh hell yeah let's give you the exclusive tour," Cody declared striding past him and stopped next to Elena, "did we all want to go together like a field trip or break off into groups and meet up after?"

"Awh do you need me to hold your hand, Cooper?" he teased, "Why don't we let our guests decide?"

"Either works for me, I wouldn't mind checking out which room leads to there," Elena said pointing overhead to the closed-in portion of the patio with a roof overhead.

"Not to make this sound like a line, but that's my room," Cody said flashing his teeth, "I got the master bedroom."

"Because Daddy Warbucks pretty much paid for this place on his own," Michael rebutted and Kai chuckled to himself, Dean being the one that introduced him into this ' _easy way of making money'_ lifestyle back in high school.

"Do you want to check it out?" he asked zoning in on Elena and she nodded taking off with him up the porches back steps leading to the second floor and opened the door to his hidden patio.

"How about you?" the other member wondered standing in between Caroline and Bonnie to put an arm around both, "Want to check out the rec room in the basement?"

"Sure," Caroline agreed not thinking much of it and Kai gritted his teeth watching Michael shift his attention to Bonnie who was avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Oh come on I won't bite," he snickered pulling her shoulder towards him and she let out an uncomfortable laugh moving to stand closer to her friend.

"Okay – yeah, I guess, I'll catch up with you in a few minutes," Bonnie said looking at him for the first time since they left the house and his expression didn't waver.

"He'll be fine, he's got AnnaLynne to keep him company," the Gemini remarked and his eyes shifted to his left forgetting Anna was even standing there.

Biting his tongue to not grimace at how sour his day was turning all three retreated back through the open door disappearing into the house and Kai peered up looking up at the wide length of the house.

"You really went all out with the living arrangements, dorm too basic for you?" he asked glancing over to her.

"Why be ordinary when you can live the life of a witch?" Anna pepped flashing her smile enticing one of his own hearing his viewpoint vocalized back at him. "So where do you want to go first?"

"The kitchen, I'll follow your lead from there," he said with a raise of his empty glass and they weaved through the crowd swiping a bottle of liquor off the counter – not caring what it was – and poured the clear liquid until the cup was almost full, tilting his head back to let it slide down his throat. "Wow that was fruity."

"Well you grabbed _Strawberry Dragonfruit Bacardi_ , so yeah, I'd say that's going to be pretty fruity," she said grabbing the bottle from him to pour some for herself. "Usually I prefer drinks mixed with something but this one's actually pretty good on its own."

"Doesn't suck," Kai smirked finishing the rest of it and trailed after Anna up to the second floor.

"So downstairs is where most of the things are – the living room, kitchen, dining room, couple of bathrooms, while this one mainly consists of everyone's bedroom and a few more bathrooms. Oh and a room that the guys turned into a gym, but if we continue on to the third floor I can show you the best view from the house."

Gesturing for her to go first they scoured the top floor peeking into the rooms that they'd use as a den/office, a walk-in closet, on top of another bathroom, before they reached their last destination.

"Your bedroom," he grinned leaning against the open door, "you know that line was so smooth I didn't even catch it."

"That wasn't a _line_ ," Anna stressed gesturing to the double doors on the opposite side of the room and Kai burst out laughing.

"Sorry, it's been a weird day."

"Well why don't you come onto the balcony with me and talk about it," she suggested pulling open the doors and letting the breeze in, striding towards her standing on the small patio overlooking a lake he hadn't realized was that close.

"Wow, nice place you got here," Kai expressed in appreciation, "not a bad trade from Portland."

"Not bad at all," Anna murmured leaning against the railing to look at him, sipping slowly on her drink, "so tell me about your day."

Refilling his glass and consuming it before answering the sway of tipsiness caused flashes of Bonnie on her knees to spark and closed his eyelids shaking his head to clear the image, the echoes of hearing her say she doesn't want anyone to know they're together replacing it.

"Well it was my first day of college, and I haven't been in school since you were, oh – I don't know, one year's old? And then I bumped into you and your friends while I was attending so yeah it's been a pretty surreal kind of day."

"I still have trouble believing you're that same kid – I mean I do remember you from then and my sisters talked about you enough that I feel like I know you, but you just don't act like Ashley's age."

"I'll drink to that," Kai cheered and she let out a throaty laugh refilling his for him.

"I'm serious! And then there's the whole you looking the same but… different, aspect," Anna added looking across his chest, "if I had to guess I'd say 27 at most."

"Are you saying I look good for my age?" he joked leaning against the railing looking out at the water.

"And if I was?"

Turning his head left Anna's smoky gray eyes pierced through him looking confident and his grin spread wide letting out a comical sound, gulping back another dose of rum and spun leaning backwards on the railing.

"Then I would say I appreciate that," he nodded through heavy lids, the buzz from the liquor aiding in silencing the incessant nagging racking around his skull.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"Are you seeing anyone?"

Popping open his eyes his vision turned towards Anna and cocked an eyebrow, lifting the drink to his lips. "Why?"

"Morbid curiosity," she shrugged, "to be honest a few of us were discussing whether you would go for someone our age or closer to Ashley's."

"Oh yeah, did you place any bets?"

"There may have been money involved, a profitable wager if you answer correctly."

"What do you think?" Kai asked surveying her expression as she gripped the railing near his hip.

"I thought if I had a chance to be 22 again and experience certain things for the first time then I wouldn't waste it," Anna summed up and he couldn't contain the snicker thinking of the different but similar paths he's gone down with Gabby and Bonnie.

"That's a fair analogy."

"Then I was right!" she beamed slapping the metal, speaking in a mock-deep tone, "Evan was all, ' _no way he'd slum it with college kids when he could have all the cougars he wanted._ ''

"He does make it sound tempting."

"So does that mean you have someone special in your life?" Anna smiled, "a young college girl of your own?"

"Being special is a tough list to make in my book; I'm going to need you to be a little more specific," Kai vocalized buying himself more time to decide if he's willing to listen to Bonnie's request or do what he wants.

"A _girlfriend._ "

"Ah," he said pointing at her with the hand he was using to hold the glass, that key factor from the conversation earlier coming back into play. "No I do not."

"Hmm," she hummed, "well Evan still needs to dish out the cash."

"What was everyone else's verdict?"

"Cody was on the fence after Evan's input and Emma was pro- _forever 22_ just for wishful thinking, but it was only me, Evan, and Michael that put our money where our mouth is."

"And the house won," Kai perked lifting his drink for clank glasses, "happy to help you with your terrible gambling habits."

"Oh it's only just the beginning. Now onto the next one of the day; I bet you twenty bucks someone within our group of friends will be stripping by the end of the night."

"That's a terrible bet to make seeing how we're at a college party that happens to be most of your home, but fine, I'm up for a friendly wager," he declared holding out his hand and they shook on it.

"Let's go check on your friends and make sure mine didn't cause them any irreparable damage."

"They're scrappier than you'd think. I'd be more concerned for your boys; one of them is like a praying mantis."

"What?" she let out through a round of glee as they exited the balcony heading out of her room and back towards the staircases.

"You know, the ones that bite the guy's head off after."

"They mate; yeah I went to class too. Which one do you mean?"

"Which one do you think?"

"The blonde looks like she could be super upbeat and friendly one minute and then breaking bones in the next."

"You're really good at this," Kai chuckled, "I actually had Elena in mind – the brunette, but now that you mention it I would say they could all fit into that category."

"What about the Bennett witch, what's she like?" Anna asked sounding like she was genuinely curious but the question struck a nerve. "I mean I've heard so much about her family history."

"Yeah," he said in a daze of conflicting thoughts, hearing her bloodline being brought up bringing some sliver of clarity through the fog. "She's great, and definitely lives up to the legendary _Bennett blood_ and all that. Thirty seconds into us meeting face to face she almost set me on fire in the middle of the liquor aisle, she's plucky."

"She tried to kill you?"

"Well she _tried_ maybe three or four times but she _succeeded_ only once," Kai clarified taking in her befuddlement hitting the last step onto the first floor. "I couldn't die in the prison world, or… stay dead, technically."

"You would just wake back up? That's awful; it must have been so hard being there all of those years."

"It had its days, most of the time I was coasting through."

"Liar," she replied instantaneously looking at her scrutinizing him.

"Do you have that freaky supernatural intuition thing like Ash, too?" he groaned plopping down on one of the recliners in the living room. "Because that was the worst, I couldn't get away with anything."

"Must be imbedded in our family," she tittered bending her legs up on the couch to his right, that little tidbit of information not filling him with warmth and sunshine that she can read through his deception – like someone else he knows.

As if thinking about her could make her appear Bonnie turned the corner with Caroline and Michael in tow and all got comfortable on the leather couches; Michael next to Anna and the girls directly across from Kai. Finishing the rest of whatever cup he was on he stuck the glass beside the chair and drummed against the armrests.

"So how about a game?" Michael suggested opening his arms wide to the room, "I know a few drinking games, we could make things interesting with a couple rounds of strip poker – or strip _anything_ for that matter, oh wait! I got it."

Whipping out his phone he spent less than twenty seconds sending a text and shoved it back into his jeans triumphantly, Anna smacking his arm. "So what's your ' _grand idea_ '?"

"Oh, just a game that's been played for generations during times like these, both amongst close friends and in the company of getting to know new people."

"If you're about to say what I'm thinking…" she began and Evan barreled into the room through the door leading to the pool.

"It's time for a round of _Truth or Dare!_ "

"What are we, twelve year's old?" Emma said appearing from the kitchen and Kai grinned enjoying the natural throaty raspy-ness of her voice that was different than any other female's he's heard, followed by Cody and Elena a minute later.

"Maybe," Michael said with a cheeky façade lifting his beer bottle, "but we get to do adult things, like drink; so let's make it one sip for truth and two sips for dare."

"So let's do this, who's going first?" Evan spoke up sitting on the ground near the door beside Emma in the chair. "Turner why don't you start it off."

"Alright, let's put all of the pressure on…" he stopped for dramatic pause, " _AnnaLynne_ ; truth or dare?"

"Truth," she replied sipping once.

"If you could have sex with anyone who would it be?"

"Oh so this is where this game it going to go," Caroline quipped drawing his attention over to her and smirked thinking the same thing.

"I'd go with Johnny Depp, I mean look at him."

"I have, and I can see his birthday's dated back fifty years," Evan piped in earning a round of delight from everyone, "got a thing for older men?"

"Beats the little boys I spend all of my time with," she retorted with her brightest smile. "Okay my turn; uhhh Bonnie! Truth or dare?"

Feeling his mouth curve looking at the trio all on the same couch their gaze went frantically to one another landing on Bon at the end who was staring Anna down.

"Dare," she said without hesitation and took two sips of her drink, Kai knowing her answer beforehand from her ' _I don't want your coven to know about me'_ speech.

"I dare you to take a body shot off of Michael," Anna grinned slapping him on the knee and Kai swore he could feel his blood beginning to simmer and boil, keeping his face void of emotion when Bonnie and her friends turned their attention on him.

"And just so you know, how we play the game is if you deny the person's request then they get to come up with two demands for the other answer," Emma informed and Kai snorted knowing she'd willingly rub her face all over some guy's abs rather than answer a couple personal questions that has a small probability of being about the two of them.

Shifting her gaze between him, Anna, and Michael he could tell by the look on her face that she didn't know what to do and was panicking, most likely wondering if he would commit an act of murder tonight if she took the dare – Kai not sure of what his impulsive response would be himself. Scrunching her brows and lifting them in an apologetic expression his nose flared and gritted his teeth leaning forward to grab the bottle of rum near Anna's feet and his glass beside him, filling it and watching it disappear like magic. Closing his eyes Kai lulled his head back as another blast of dizziness struck him and gripped the liquor bottle's neck when he heard people starting to shuffle around.

"Okay what's going to be your weapon of choice?"

"Doesn't matter," Bonnie answered quietly, his head slowly tilting forward seeing Elena and Caroline grilling him on the couch while she stood beside them with arms crossed looking off into the kitchen. Striding back in shirtless Michael held up a bottle of clear and brown liquid in each hand, holding them out like he was weighing the two to ask which one she wanted. "Dark."

"Excellent choice."

Scooting Anna off of the couch Michael lied down four feet away to Kai's right landing Bonnie directly in front of him a step or two away, her stance tense looking over in his direction but not able to make eye contact. Pushing off the back cushion he rested his forearms on his knees hunched over and glanced at her friends – who were still watching him and not what was about to happen in front of them – and it felt like something was crawling under his skin making him itchy and on edge. Dropping slowly to kneel down beside him de ja vu plagued his mind from a few hours before and Kai looked off to the side out the porch's sliding doors, telling himself to leave the room so he doesn't end up hurting anyone but the stubborn voice in his head refused to leave its post.

Shifting his view back in their direction the closer Bonnie's lips got to Michael's stomach the more high-strung his mind and body became fighting to react, his left foot jiggling in place as his brain fired off sparks feeling like it was going to explode. Before he could stop himself the chant _'electrica crimen'_ slipped out and a static charge of electricity sparked from the connection of her mouth against his skin spreading throughout his body, both yelping and jumping away from the other as Michael checked to make sure everything was still intact on him.

"I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened – I –"Bonnie paused and whipped her head glaring at him once she put it together, Kai staring back at her expressionless. "It was an accident."

"Whew that Bennett blood," Michael sassed looking impressed, "I guess I'll have to keep a closer eye on you."

Letting out a sound of laughter with a mix of uneasiness and agitation Bonnie tucked her hair behind an ear blocking her face and sat down beside Elena, looking to the person beside Kai. "Evan, truth or dare?"

"Bring it; dare."

"I dare you to…" she uttered out loud trying to come up with something on the fly, the sneaky smile spreading across her face, "do a nice little strip dance for all of us."

"Done and done," Evan declared finishing the last of his drink and hopping to his feet, "somebody give me a beat."

"Can't go wrong with a little bit of Drake," Michael said pulling out his phone before music starting chiming through.

Evan swayed to the sultry beat and set his eyes on Emma beside him, unzipping his sweatshirt and pulling each arm out extra slowly before dropping it on her head. Continuing around the circle Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie get the next showing as the fits of giggled spilled out of them as he showed off some of his best female impersonations; dropping his hand to the floor and running it up his jeans, striking poses, and spinning around to pull off his shirt like he was shy before shimmying in their faces. The cheers and loud cackles drew in the crowd lingering in the kitchen and trickled in joining in on the humor as Evan closed in on his last target on the other couch.

Strutting over to Anna he grabbed her wrists pulling them an inch away from his chest and dragged them down before she stuck out her nails scratching down at the end. Dropping her hands he wagged one finger in the air moving his head with the motion slinking away and Kai's smile stretched ear to ear being blissfully distracted, even if it was only temporary, by the humorous coven member putting on a shameless show for the party-goers. Popping open the button of his jeans he turned sticking his butt out and began pulling them down, getting almost to the end of his boxers before the song ended and pulled them back up bowing at the echoes of protest around him.

"Kai you owe me twenty bucks! I am just racking up the bills tonight; I told you someone in our group of friends would be stripping by the end of the night," Anna beamed fist pumping in victory making him groan out in agony.

"I knew those odds were stacked against me."

"I should have charged money for that show," Evan interjected, "I brought out some of my best moves."

"For the sake of every girl you've been with I seriously hope you are exaggerating," she commented causing more snickers and he threw a hip thrust Emma's way.

"Well why don't we toss that question over to my glamorous girlfriend and see what she has to say," he smirked looking at the redhead who smiled brightly in response.

"I have no complaints."

"No kidding, you two are dating? I can recall a _few_ too many members getting together from being cooped up in the Gemini bubble for so long… I may have been one of them," Kai simpered as his eyes trailed around the group.

"How long have you been going out?"

"Three years," Emma confirmed looking him over with hearts in her eyes giving her the same gooey expression.

"Feels like thirty," he said with a contradictive sweetness oozing out of his voice earning a playful shove against his chest letting out a graveled laugh. "Okay it's about time we throw it over to _Mister Gemini_ ; pick your poison."

"Dare," Kai said without hesitation and finished what was left in his glass, ready for whatever he threw at him.

"Since I already opened the door for disrobing it's time someone gets a little wet; I dare you to strip down to your underwear and jump in the pool."

Shrugging and nodding noncommittally as an answer his eyes shifted across the room to Bonnie's intense glare at him, cocking a brow as an idea sprang to get just a _little_ bit of karma thrown back her way. Pushing to his feet Kai reached behind his neck pulling the material over his head and tossed the shirt behind him, glancing around at the girls just to rattle her some more and bent down untying the laces to get off the boots. Once upright he popped open the button unzipping his pants and fought the smirk threatening to break free from physically feeling Bonnie's laser-beams digging into him, hooking his thumbs under the waistband and pulling them down and out of each leg.

"Okay let's do this," he declared with a nod standing tall, turning to stride out the side door not waiting to see who would follow and took a quick head count of how many people were still swimming around.

Checking over his shoulder to everyone walking through the gate's entrance Kai saw an open spot near the corner and moved closer to do his trick. Rolling forward onto one hand in a cartwheel motion he flipped while upside down curling tight into a cannonball and sunk all the way to the bottom, easing his way back up enveloped by warm water.

"That was so sick!" one of the guys yelled out when his head broke the surface.

"That was like some kind of karate move, where did you learn that?"

"Just another day in 1994 with way too much time on my hands," Kai remarked pulling himself out of the water watching droplets pour off of him.

"Here you go dude," Cody said tossing his towel over to him and nodded in thanks, running it through his hair before patting his chest dry and wrapping it around his waist.

"Alright who's getting it next," he said deviously rubbing his palms together looking over his potential targets, landing on the one who was glowing with mirth. "Caroline."

"Yes?"

"What's it gonna be?"

"Depends what the safer route with you would be, hmm… let's go with truth, I'm a pretty open book."

The grin spread wide as his mind reverted back to his old ways, the thought crossing his mind to ask her if she would ever ' _date a guy only in secrecy'_ or ' _pretend that you weren't dating someone in front of your friends'_ but the weight of his conscious came barreling down on him when his line of view shifted to Bonnie anxiously biting at her lip. Kai may have been stuck in a bitter mood but it wasn't strong enough to intentionally try to hurt or embarrass her and risk making things worse.

"Well now that you're forced to be straight with me I've been curious; would you consider us friends?"

"That's… what your question is?" Caroline asked taken back with drawn eyebrows, "not ' _what's the worst thing you've ever done_ ' or something a little more creative?"

"Well I probably know the answer to that, as with most other things _but_ this one I'm only pretty sure of so why not just clear that up right now."

"Oh…okay, well, then no," she said lightly cracking up at someone's audible gasp, "I'm kidding, I don't know why but I seem to get along with you pretty easily so, sure, I'll stick you in the friend-zone."

Taking amusement in the hoots and jabs from the guys they all headed back inside and Kai stayed in the towel waiting for his boxers to dry before having to put on his jeans, him being half-naked not standing out as much since Evan and Michael were too. When each person had a round to make a fool out of themselves they played a couple of drinking games to wrap up the night and said their goodbyes to everyone, sliding on his shirt when Anna's voice spoke up behind him.

"Thanks for coming tonight."

"Thanks for the invite," Kai responded pivoting to face her, "this house is pretty sweet."

"Well we have a few extra bedrooms since Emma and Evan share one most of the time, so the offer still stands anytime you feel like stopping by," she said with an infectious smile, "so don't turn into a stranger again."

"Okay," he said through a quick laugh.

"And it was nice getting the chance to talk to you, it was fun."

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll all be by as soon as your next party rolls around."

"Oh I'd expect another one by the end of the week with the way the guys are loving being the ' _hot new studs on campus'_ ," Anna mocked an octave deeper.

"Then I'll be back here soon," he summarized and felt her arms wrap around his waist embracing him in a hug before he rounded up everyone to head to the car.

"So friend," Caroline pepped from behind him in the backseat as he turned onto the main road, "can I throw out a question that's been on my mind all night that I know some information to but not enough?"

"Hit me with it."

"Bonnie filled me in on most of what's going on with not wanting to stir the Gemini pot with your personal lives but, you two are, like… still together, right?"

Kai lulled his head to the right looking over the side of Bonnie's profile until she made eye contact from his lack of speaking. "You want to take the reins on that one?"

" _Yes_ , we are, even though it may look confusing from afar."

"It's pretty hazy up close too," he countered shifting his eyes back to the road and his vision swayed feeling sufficiently blitzed, blinking away the daze and turned on the radio to focus. Listening to music the girls sang along to the songs until they were dropped off back at the dorms and both stayed quiet the rest of the ride home.

"So that was pretty fun, huh?" Kai said in an exaggerated tone walking into the house behind her. "Meeting new friends, taking body shots-"

"Jumping into the pool naked, yeah there were some highlights."

"I think there would be a little more hype if I was _fully_ naked."

"Close enough," Bonnie muttered storming into the kitchen looking through and cabinets and fridge, the covetousness oozing in her voice peaked his interest and leaned against the island behind her.

"But personally I would have chosen _me_ for the strip dance dare, as you know I have a few moves of my own I could have brought out."

"I would have killed you," she said pivoting to face him with a handful of food options, raising his brows at the remark.

"Oh really – and what if I took a shot off of one of the girl's stomachs? Maybe from one of your friends, or the new witches in town," he considered looking to the ceiling and tapping his chin, "I wonder what something like that would merit."

"An electric shock a little farther south, for starters," Bonnie remarked drawing his attention back to her when she snapped a baby carrot in half with her teeth, looking over your face.

"You aren't mad?"

"I was initially but it was more from being surprised. Once I saw you putting on a show for everyone I thought about how I'd feel if one of your new friends was putting their face near your body and I _guess_ I understood where you were coming from."

"Hm," he hummed lightly not expecting that reaction and tilted his head onto one shoulder, the side of his lip curving when Bonnie pushed a water bottle across the island to him.

"How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?"

"You look pretty drunk," she said copying his head movement and his lazy grin spread.

"I'm fine."

"I was going to offer to drive but I don't know how to use the stick."

"It's easy, once you start to feel resistance you switch into the next gear and pick up speed," Kai summed up, Bonnie's raised eyebrow invoking his laughter and leaned off the tabletop twisting the bottle cap. "Did that sound as sexual to you as it did to me? That's pretty funny, and also true, but not where I was going with that. Also you don't need to worry about my driving skills, I've been in enough severe crashes to know what to avoid. But I need to wash to chlorine off of me so I'll be right back."

Undressing an article of clothing at a time as he strolled out of the kitchen and down the hall into the bathroom Kai's woozy and mellow state kept him under the warm water for well over ten minutes. Dragging himself out of the shower and drying off he looked around through groggy eyes realizing he didn't grab anything else to change into and walked through one open door across the hall into her empty bedroom, swiping a pair of sweats left on the chair in the corner and sliding them on.

"I made some eggs if you're hungry," chimed behind him and spun to Bonnie leaning her upper body into the doorway before darting out of sight, following behind finding her in the living room wrapped up in a blanket with two plates and glasses of water in front of her.

"Thanks for the midnight snack," he said jumping onto the couch and scooping up the plate diving in. "These ones might be even better than the last."

"They're becoming my new specialty."

Eating in comfortable silence with the added sound of the TV Kai hadn't realized how famished he was and finished the full plate in minutes, the half portion that she started out with still almost all there and grabbed his plate putting them both on the table. Pushing forward Bonnie gripped the top of the couch with her left hand and he pivoted to face her, one leg bent with the other on the floor and watched through a hooded stare as she closed in on him throwing a knee over his thigh to sit on his lap.

"Well, hello."

"Hi," she uttered curling her forearms between their chests and leaned in resting her head on his shoulder, his fingers sliding under her shirt to trail up her spine.

"Between the back and forth of affection and irritability you're kind of giving me whiplash."

"I know… today's been crazy," Bonnie breathed against his neck, "and my brain keeps flip-flopping and overthinking everything but there's something you said earlier that I haven't been able to stop thinking about."

"What?" he murmured and she lifted her head to face him a few inches away with her eyes trained down at his chest.

"You asked if I was sure if I wanted to date you," she said quietly and lifted her gaze to his, "I am, and I know I haven't been the best person at showing you that but… please, bear with me because I have no idea what I'm doing."

"The line forms behind me," he retorted continuing the designs across her skin noting she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I know, and I'm probably doing an even worse job at convincing you but I'm just – I'm scared, and when I try to think my way out of it the hole I'm in gets deeper until I feel like I'm suffocating."

"Take a breath, it's alright" Kai soothed pulling her in closer seeing the trepidation etched across her features and wanted to wipe it away, "I know you're crazy about me."

Breaking into a smile a sound of relief escaped Bonnie's lips and the weight that he felt on his shoulders since they left the house lifted; the silver lining of her declaring she wants to be with only him bringing him a flush of ease on top of her confessing that she's as lost and upside down over what's developed between them as him. But the reaction that she had to his statement brought an unsuspecting cloud of warmth through Kai's chest expanding out of him and wrapped both arms under her shirt pulling it up over her head and pressed her warm torso to his. Gliding her hands behind his neck for a hug Bonnie nuzzled into him brushing her lips against his skin and closed his eyes pushing his fingers through her hair to massage her skull.

"I don't want you to still be pissed at me either," she rumbled and Kai smirked tilting his head into hers.

"It's going to take me longer than that to get over the situation you stuck us in but I seem to find it very difficult to stay mad at you for long, so I guess you're off the hook. But there are still some ground rules that we apparently need to throw out there," he vocalized and Bonnie flicked up her gaze to his. "Just because you're telling people you're single doesn't mean you get to act it, I don't want to kill someone in my own circle for doing what any rational man would do when they hear that you're up for grabs."

"Nice," she said rolling her eyes and his grip tightened.

"If you don't want me out there flirting it up then I'd listen to my request," Kai said simply and her eyelids turned to slits, "so then we have an understanding. Oh and one more thing if this lasts more than a week I might just say ' _screw it_ ' and enact another grand gesture."

"I can give you a fair warning my response would be even worse than before," Bon said with a stern point at his nose, "I'm serious."

"Then you should _seriously_ consider not waiting a month again to get the words out," he verbalized leaning to kill her fingertip and crushed her into him biting at the side of her neck as he leaned forward making her squeal. "Want to go lay down?"

"Okay."

"I'm just going to put the dishes in the sink I'll meet you in there in a sec."

"Leave 'em," she mumbled, "I don't want to walk I'm too comfortable like this."

"Then I have an idea, get on my back."

"Your…"

"Back, like a piggy back ride; hop on."

"You are eight year's old," Bonnie quipped but didn't fight him when he began swinging her behind him and curled her arms around his neck, standing with the plates and empty glasses in hand with her in tow. "But this was a good idea."

Making his way through the house Kai rinsed off the plates putting them and the cups in the strainer, turning the corner to the hallway and felt soft lips against his skin before he reached the bedroom door. Squeezing her thighs he crossed over to the bed and was going to tell her she made it safety when something more entertaining came to mind, contemplating if he should do a move he always used to pull on Josette that cracked them up every time. Using the last couple of steps as momentum Kai leaned forward so the top of his head was level with the mattress and reached up behind him, grabbing hold underneath Bonnie's armpits and pulling flipping her upside down onto the bed landing on her back.

Before he could lift his head to see the damage the high-pitched rolling laughter echoed off the walls eliciting his own and looked up to her holding her sides, crawling across the comforter beside her to get to the other side. Tugging at the top of the covers Bonnie wiggled about to stand and unzipped her jeans stepping out of them and leaving them in a pile at her feet jumping into the blanket of warmth. Lying flat on his back Kai's line of view dropped to a hand sliding across his stomach and looked right to her turning onto her side and moved her other hand overhand, wrapping a leg over his. Throwing his left arm up overhead he slid his fingers through hers pressing his palm to the backside of her hand, resting his temple on her bicep.

"So you want to date me?" Kai inquired in a low tone, her eyes shifting to look out of the corner of her lid with a cautious look on her face.

"Mhm."

"That means we're dating."

"Look at you putting together basic math," Bonnie oozed in a baby tone slapping her hand lightly against his abs.

"Does that also make me your boyfriend?" he wondered and stifled the bout of humor from her tensing up, eyes popping open wide on alert.

"I don't know… does it?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"And I'm asking you," she fired back doing her best to deflect the hot seat.

"Do you want me to be?" Kai pressed and his overtired drunken slosh had his lips curving up like the Grinch from her looking like Bambi stuck in headlights. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Observing her examining him Bonnie's eyes clouded over distantly as they always seemed to do when she was daydreaming and blinked out of the daze after a moment, moving to roll on top of him with their hands still clasped over his head. Watching her Kai witnessed the moment the fog dissipated leaving a wafting of clarity behind, moving closer to his face until their foreheads touched and whispered against his lips.

" _Yes._ "

Sealing her mouth over his nails dragged through his hair keeping them locked together and he moved his free hand around to caress her naked back. Kai felt the plagues of exhaustion hitting him every couple of minutes but it was happening during the least opportune time, feeling himself start to drift off every time he closed his eyes for too long. Hearing the quiet whimper in the back of Bonnie's throat his clasped hand slipped out of its confinement rubbing over her back and squeezed feeling her arms clench doing the same. Pulling back to break the kiss Kai followed her motion and leaned forward nibbling at her jaw and down her neck, shivering at the throaty sound vibrating against his tongue.

Wiggling her way down his body Bonnie has come to fit perfectly snug in the confines of his proportions and could curl herself into the right position that was comfortable while still giving them enough room to move around in. Pecking kisses over his face she giggled at his scrunched up expression like she was waking up a child and continued down resting her head on his chest. Struggling to stay awake already Kai knew he was done for when he felt fingers lightly scratching at the back of his jaw and that was the last moment he could recall before he passed out.


	31. Chapter 31

"Hey Care, what's up?" Bonnie greeted into the phone folding her clean laundry and placing them in piles on the bed.

"Okay, I have given you a two-day ' _I have a boyfriend and everything is beautiful'_ grace period but that is over and done with now because the both of you are coming with me to Whitmore's Winter Carnival today."

"That's today?" she repeated with glee.

" _Yes_ and you missed the last one so you're coming, but it's going to be just us since Stefan and Damon don't go here and Elena has a late night at the hospital."

"Sounds great," Bonnie said truthfully, the thought of hanging out with Kai and Caroline not bringing about the same upheaves of nausea that used to knock her off of her feet. "Will you be at the dorm later or do you need us to pick you up?"

"I'm out right now but I should be back at the room by then. I'd give it an hour and then head over."

"Okay, Kai said he had to run out to the store a few minutes ago so he should be back soon. I'll text you when we're on our way."

"Awesome, see you soon!"

Tossing the phone onto the comforter 3:47PM flashed on the screen before going dark and went back to the laundry picking through for potential outfits and slid on a pair of leggings, moving to the closet rifling through for a shirt. Pulling out a pale yellow tunic Bonnie pushed her arms through the long sleeves adjusting the elastic underneath her bra and undid the top two of the many buttons between her breasts. Moving to the dresser she picked up a green necklace filled with strings of different shaped beads and swung it over her head hanging low near the elastic, a pair of studded diamond earrings going on next.

Drumming her fingers beside the ring Bonnie ran through the same monologue that's plagued her mind a few too many times since she met Kai's new friends but refused to listen to the bumbling chatter; the cool metal sliding down her skin fitting just right filling her with warmth and tranquility. Fussing with her hair to get them in curls at a semi-decent pace by the time Bonnie checked her phone over forty minutes had passed since she hung up with Care when she heard the front door open followed by boots running up the stairs.

"Kai?" Bonnie said to the empty hallway popping her head out the bedroom door, walking with caution just in case a burglar broke into the house that would have to endure a magical beating.

Heavy footsteps thudded back down the staircase by the time she reached them and he hit the bottom swinging around and stopping abruptly, wide eyed, with Bonnie directly in front of him. "Oh, hey Bon."

"Hey, weren't you going to the store?"

"I did."

"So where are the bags?"

"Upstairs."

"What did you get?"

"Just a couple of things."

"…Why are you being so vague?" Bonnie inquired looking him over skeptically, her investigation bringing forth his cheekiness. "What are you hiding?"

"Dead body," Kai nodded with a serious expression, "ah, but people usually keep those in the basement, not the attic. Anyways, what's up; why do you look like you're going out?"

"Because I'm going out," she clarified, "we both are."

"To where; because I kind of had an idea," he murmured glancing up to the top floor.

"Care called and said Whitmore was having their Winter carnival tonight," she informed and Kai's eye-line snapped back over to hers. "Why, what was your idea?"

"Carnival? I haven't been to a carnival in years! I tried many times during my stay in _Prisney-Land_ but seeing how I was the only attendee most of my night would be spent figuring out how to start a ride when I'm on it… and how to get off. The latter didn't have the best conclusions. Let's do it! I'll grab my coat."

"Wait," Bonnie pressed when he was already halfway up the steps, "what was it that you wanted to do tonight?"

"Mmm something revolved around ravaging each other all night – since we finally can again," Kai promised flaring up the heat under her cheeks replaying the smoldering look he gave her this morning when she told him her period was over. "But we'll have plenty of time for that later."

"Gee thanks for penciling me in," she mumbled when he made it to the top thinking he didn't catch it and her expression lightened hearing Kai's howl of laughter from the floor above.

Strolling back into view Bonnie did a double take taking in his outfit; her favorite soft cream-white sweater, dark jeans, boots, and a black beanie pulled back enough that his hairline shows. The long black coat she's seen him sport once or twice before hung over his forearm and he tugged up his sleeves catching sight of his watch on one wrist and bracelets on the other with rings scattered about, gazing up at his look of eagerness.

"Ready when you are."

"Okay I just need to put my shoes on," she said moving to the front door where they lie beside.

"I'll meet you out there I have to use the bathroom quickly," Kai remarked tossing her the keys. "Feel free to turn on the heat if it's cold."

"Thanks, I'll let Care know we're on our way."

Making her way over to the car Bonnie sent a text letting her know they were on their way and sat in the passenger seat attempting to figure out how these keys work when there is no physical key or an ignition slot to put it in. After another minute or two she found out the circular button was actually the key and the engine hummed underneath her feet ready to get on the road. Kai hadn't been gone too long but it was just enough to raise her suspicion before he appeared in the doorway a millisecond before he was buckling his seatbelt beside her.

"Okay let's go."

"What'd you do, fall in?" Bonnie teased and he sniggered pulling out of the driveway.

"Something like that. Are we picking up Elena too?"

"No she has to work late, but do you think your friends will be there?"

Kai looked over briefly to lock eyes and lifted his hand off of the stick shift reaching for hers to kiss her knuckles. "I wouldn't start throwing out the friendship label just yet, but I have no idea I didn't even know _we_ were going until five minutes ago. Why, you missing them already?"

"Wow you really are a mind-reader," she gasped in mock-awe running her hand up his arm over the soft cotton, "what am I thinking right now?"

"Mm that I'm dangerously attractive and you wouldn't mind straddling me in this car," Kai remarked with a spot on prediction watching his wolfish grin deepen and she shrugged, looking him over for added effect.

"Lucky guess."

"Oh it's no guess, sometimes a person just _knows_ ," he winked and Bonnie's thigh clenched together hearing the confidence and suggestiveness behind his words, contemplating if she should have blown off the carnival to go with Kai's plans instead when he pulled up beside the dorm cutting the engine and stepping out.

"Well if it isn't the happy couple," Caroline chimed closing the distance to them wearing boots, black jeans, an orange lacy shirt and a denim jean jacket, "took you long enough to make it official. I mean technically you already put a ring on it."

"Care!" she hissed swatting at her friend provoking both of their amusement.

"What can I say; I'm an unconventional kind of guy."

"To put it lightly," Bonnie snorted as he slid on the long coat popping up the collar, the edgy contrast from that and the beanie against the tenderness of the sweater had her pressing her teeth into her gums to stifle the sound of appreciation that was threatening to spill out.

"Since neither of you have been to Whitmore's carnival before I should give you a far warning; it is _amazing,"_ Care stressed as they started off towards the back of the building," I thought it was going to be similar to the end of the year bash we had Senior year but it's so much better."

"Are there rides?" Kai perked on her right, looking left to Caroline.

" _Oh there are rides,_ most of the things there are being run by the people who work for the carnival but some of the booths are just for the students."

" _Yes,_ " he said through his teeth pumping his fist in the air and dropping it on Bonnie's shoulders. "What are we going on first?"

"Whatever your heart desires," she cooed watching his features brighten and they turned the corner to the back building, stopping in their tracks. "Wow."

"Oh this is sweet."

"Told you," Care beamed linking arms with Bonnie and taking off towards the massive field completely covered with festivities.

Everywhere she looked there were colored booths, rides, and people intermingling as well as a variety of sounds coming from all of the games and blinking lights becoming more visible as the sunlight was rapidly disappearing. Two ticket booths were in front of the entrance and a sign was underneath listing the prices for each amount of tickets; $5 for 10, $20 for 40, and $50 for 100.

"So I can afford the $5 for 10, the others are a little absurd."

"Seriously, I mean fifty bucks? Who would do that?"

Bonnie was about to answer ' _a crazy person_ ' when her eye-line shifted over to Kai getting handed six full sheets of tickets that could barely fit through the small opening. "Someone who has zero self-control, impulsive, and a child at heart."

"Exhibit A," she said with waving her hand over to the guy practically skipping back to them.

"Here's two sheets for you," he said handing them to Bonnie and then Caroline, "and two for you, and two for me!"

"…You bought us all a hundred tickets?" Care asked sounding truly baffled.

"Well yeah, I wasn't going to get them for just me and make you watch me have all of the fun."

"And you didn't think forty tickets for everyone would cut it?"

"Exactly, glad we're on the same page."

"You are something else, Kai," she vocalized through a dazzling smile, "thanks for the tickets. Now let's go use them all!"

"That's the spirit!"

Bouncing in front of them Kai's high spirits were infectious, Bonnie and Caroline quickly joining in and both linked one of their arms through his heading off in any direction. For a school's carnival she couldn't believe how much work and effort they went into making this a full-fledged fair and the crowds of people filing in were staggering. All of the classic booths were there and ready to be played; such as ring tosses, darts at balloons, water racing games, the rope latter, the wheel of fortune, bean bag toss, and knocking over a lineup of items as well as others that were more modernized or school-related. The Tie-dying station looked like a blast as well as the face and body painting tent beside it, and a mini salon being done by other students.

A lot of the tents were being run by kids her age but there were some where no one was in charge but the student who decided to step up to the plate, like the pie throwing and eating competitions, a photo booth, kissing booth, and the dunk tank. The funhouses were ' _adult friendly'_ in size with obstacles, mirrors, ladders, and slides all around looking just as appealing as when she was a kid and was something she would make sure they all experienced before the night was over. A fortune teller off to her right caught Bonnie's attention as she had a deck of Tarot cards spread out in front of her and unintentionally locked eyes with her, tightening her grip around Kai's arm and speeding off feeling like the woman could see straight through her. Shaking off the chills she looked around at the same selection of rides that you would find at any carnival but felt the familiar thrill course through her just like when she was ten year's old and finally tall enough to go on the good stuff.

The giant boat that gave a tickle in your stomach when you rocketed off to the top hit her with a sense of nostalgia and examined the other rides around her; _The_ _Pendulum Swing_ that looked like a giant toothpick, bumper cars, a carousel, the hand-glider, _The Zipper_ , _RoundUp, Fireball, The Scrambler, Gravitron, Yo-Yo, Tilt-A-Whirl_ and last but not least the most popular at any fiesta with rides and games, the _Ferris wheel._ Observing Kai bouncing on the balls of his feet as he tugged her towards the lights and noises reminded Bonnie of a hyperactive child given caffeine for the first time, the mistake of such actions not being realized until it was far too late.

"Come on let's go on this one!"

"Kai on a level of 1-10, how excited are you?" Care wondered.

"Oh a fifteen at the very least; why, can you tell?"

"No, not at all," she dragged out exaggeratingly.

"Am I getting you pumped up too?" Kai asked in a rushed tone of giddiness, her lips pursing over to one side.

"Yeah, actually, I am feeling overly ambitious to now go on all of the rides and win the games."

"Then let's go!" he yelled letting go of Bonnie's hand and jumping in front of them like a rabbit all the way over to _RoundUp_ , the uncontained laughter spilling out of both of the girls as they trailed behind handing their tickets to the worker.

Walking around the large open circle Caroline moved to one of the spots hooking the chain in front to seal her in followed by Bonnie and Kai as the rest of the kids quickly found an empty space to occupy, curling her fingers around the bars in front of her when it eased its way into the first spin. Within thirty seconds the momentum had everyone's back firmly against the ride and it tilted up on one side at a 60 degree angle so when you went around the top you could see the lights flashing around the carnival, the sun setting before her eyes as darkness began clouding around them. Hearing a heavy clank her eyes shifted right to Kai stepping out of his spot and swinging around holding onto the bars to stand directly in front of her – wide out in the open.

"What are you doing!" Bonnie shrieked fisting the front of his shirt to pull him in and was hindered by the chain separating them, moving with shaking fingers to try and unlatch it.

"Are you afraid I'll fall?" trickled cheekily into her eardrums and looked up to Kai lifting his hands up over his head causing an eruption of cheers from the audience watching him.

Leaning off of the backside she was suctioned to Bonnie wrapped her arms inside his jacket and yanked until their chests clashed, his deep laughter felt in her chest more than heard as he cupped underneath her ear and leaned down smiling pressing his lips to hers. Rolling his tongue the moment they rounded the highest point the flip in her stomach shot up her core into her throat and was struck with vertigo feeling lightheaded, disoriented, and temporarily unaware of her surroundings. As the spinning began to slow Kai eased back flashing his teeth before situating himself in place beside her, swiping off his beanie and sticking it in his back pocket.

"Alright who was the jokester outside of their spot?" the guy asked stepping onto the platform when it finally stopped and scanned their faces, grumbling a protest when no one said anything and stormed back down the steps.

" _What is the matter with you?_ " Bonnie hissed in a hushed whisper even after they were out of earshot, a sly grin crossing his face as he slid back on the black beanie.

"Just having a little bit of fun."

"The carnival isn't enough pizazz for you, you have to go and put yourself in harm's way for that extra thrill?"

"What can I say, I love the adrenaline," he joked walking up behind her to wrap his arms across her chest, continuing their movements as he spoke. "Oh come on don't be mad at me, you can't be angry at a carnival it's physically impossible. I mean look at that."

Pointing left at a booth with giant stuffed zoo animals aligning the ceiling drew in Bonnie's attention and followed his finger to the opposite side where a couple was getting their picture taken surrounded by giant furniture making them appear miniature.

"You are really loving this, aren't you?"

"How does this not just fill you up with joy?"

"Well I'm not five," Bonnie retorted sarcastically giggling when he play-squeezed her tighter and wiggled out of his grasp standing in between the two of them. "And I am _all for_ the excitement of going on rides and winning prizes – let's do all of that, but can we steer clear from any life-threatening situations we may stumble into? You climbing to the top of the Ferris wheel, for example, or maybe trying to stand up on the _Yo-Yo_ swing. Whatever _daredevil_ event may arise… avoid it no matter what, okay?"

"But-"

"Nope."

"You don't even-"

"I don't care," she cut him off before Kai could slam her with a ton of hypotheticals, "no stupid tricks that could result in you _not_ being easily healed like you're used to; got it?"

"Mmph," he grunted looking out at the carnival and back down to her giving him a stern look implying she was still waiting for an answer. " _Fine,_ I'll be good."

The promise lit up Bonnie's face and leaned into his side lacing her fingers through his, sliding her thumb around the spinner ring. "Thank you."

Scrunching his face back at her Kai pecked the tip of her nose and dropped the façade when he was turning away, catching the small smile on his profile. Moving onto the booths the three of them took turns in mini competitions to see who had the most skills at bean bag tosses, knocking over things lined up, and throwing darts at balloons on a board - Bonnie coming in last every single time.

"What's the matter Bon, can't keep up?"

"With the guy who spent his free time in 1994 in abandoned fairs and the girl who has her own _supernatural_ advantages, I'd say it's safe to assume I'm a bit out of my league here."

Winding up the pitch Kai whipped the whiffle ball at the small target and struck it making the bottles fling across the ground. "Winner! Winner! Claim your prize!"

"Yeah but you get the best part – a prize at the end," he declared gesturing overhead, Bonnie's cheeks inflamed from the sudden attention on her. "Take your pick."

"What, no," she stuttered shaking her head, "I can't, that's a lot of pressure."

"What?" Kai laughed out, his rumbling intensifying seeing her look of actual panic and looked back to the booth pointing to one of them in the back. "Here you go."

Bonnie looked down to the gold alien being placed in her hands; the head was almost the same size as hers with big black slanted orbs for eyes and two small white dots at the top for pupils, a small plush body with little arms and legs sticking out, and a black X placed where his bellybutton would be. The head would be the perfect size to use as a pillow and the cute unknown creature brought a smile to her face, she loved it.

"He reminds me of you," she beamed lifting the aliens face beside his.

"They do look alike," Caroline agreed earning a round of mirth from the both of them and dropped the little guy by her side.

"Come on, I want to go on more rides."

"That's the spirit!" Kai cheered pivoting to walk backwards a few steps ahead of them. "What did you have in mind; spinning, flying, I know you don't like heights but these rides aren't that high up."

"No, it was more of the ' _being in a plane flying around in the sky'_ aspect that worried me but these I can handle." Bonnie remarked with confidence, glancing over at the Ferris wheel that always gave her anxious butterflies. "I want to go on the giant swings."

"Okay," he said with jubilation, seemingly ready to go on or play whatever she had in mind and made their way to the _Yo-Yo_ , settling in with Kai in front of her and Caroline behind.

"Now don't try anything obnoxious," she said sternly and Kai began swaying his seat left and right as the ride started up.

"You got it!"

Gripping onto the metal chains that held her chair suspended they were over thirty feet high and swinging in a circle taking in the view of bright lights and chattering students. Kai hadn't waited a full minute before he was testing her limits and the seats strength, stretching his arms on either side of him and leaned tilting backwards. Bonnie's angry pleas were drowned out by the cheers of everyone around them – including his own voice hollering into the wind, and shook her head as he swayed his seat to and fro seemingly enjoying every minute of it.

"Kai what did we _just_ talk about?" Bonnie interrogated when he helped lift her out of the plastic.

"Avoid exhilarating occurrences like the plague," Kai remarked formally like a soldier, "even though it is an instinctive need to do such things."

"Maybe in 1994, but in this world if you go soaring off of something onto a hard landing you won't come back an hour later unscathed."

"Yeah I still have to get used to that," he snickered as they made their way over to the concession stand, "but I still feel pretty invincible."

"Pretty sure that's your _'I'm an almighty coven leader'_ ego flaring up," Care chimed earning a snort from the conversationalist.

"You could be right, but it's not an ego if I can back it up," Kai winked spreading his grin wide, "would either of you like anything?"

"Before I go on more rides? Not a chance," she said with a raise of her hand.

"I'll pick at whatever you get," Bonnie shrugged and the corner of his lip curved.

"Can I get a Coke and a fried dough?" he asked the man handing off a twenty and receiving his food a minute later. "What kind of stuff do you like on yours?"

"All of it," she stated salivating over the white powder and cinnamon being poured all over the dough and broke off a piece, humming in appreciation hearing its crunch. "So good."

Holding up the plate Care couldn't resist and tore off a piece for herself making a similar sound of satisfaction and headed off into the crowd. Passing by an array of booths the dunk tank caught everyone's attention but it wasn't because of the game itself, but rather the person sitting on the diving board inside of it and yanked her hand out of his.

"Hey Parker!" Michael yelled raising a fist in the air, "what's up man?"

Shifting her gaze from Michael to their surroundings Bonnie spotted a pretty blonde, head and shoulders above everyone else and watched as Cody whipped the ball at the target dunking his friend into the water.

"Hah! Told ya' you were going down, Turner!" he yelled thrusting his fist in the air and turned to face them, AnnaLynne's lit up expression when she locked eyes on Kai striking a nerve.

"Hey! I had a feeling I might see you tonight, the few times that I went to one of these or an amusement park with my sister she would tell me you two would go every night they were in town."

"Without fail; yeah she liked them _almost_ as much as me, but not quite. Where's the rest of your dream team?"

"Being disgustingly in love somewhere in this place," Michael murmured fully dressed coming into view, "between us it's nauseating."

"Oh is someone a little jealous?" AnnaLynne said bumping his hip, "I thought you couldn't get enough of being the unattached ladies' man?"

"Doesn't mean I can never change my tune," he soothed arching a brow at Bonnie and her eyes darted left to Kai, who was staring at Michael. "They'll catch up with us eventually. What about you, did you just get here or taking off?"

"We've been here for a while but I still have plenty of tickets that need to be cashed in."

"Sweet, we've still got a few more left in us so let's get to it."

Feeling Kai's eyes on her she checked his reaction to see his eyebrows raised in question if she wanted to hang out with them, lifting her shoulders and folding her arms crushing the alien to her chest.

"Where's your friend?" Cody wondered looking over the three of them.

"Working," Care said with a rue smile, "why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," he remarked with a cocky grin, "where were you guys headed to next?"

"I'm not sure," Kai said looking down to her, "do you want to go on a ride or check out the booths?"

"Mm maybe we should give my stomach another five minutes just to be safe."

"Games it is."

"You up for a little competition?" Michael goaded stopping short in front of a booth with two basketball nets and Kai pulled out a handful of tickets from his pocket.

"Absolutely."

Bending their knees to take stance both waited for the worker to give them the signal and scooped up a basketball, kicking off the race. Bonnie had to give credit where it was due, Kai was unnaturally gifted when it came to carnival games and was putting everyone who went up against him to shame, even against someone who had obviously played the sport in high school. Seeing the red light and a loud buzzer go off over Kai's net it made a final _swoosh_ and raised his arms up in victory.

"Michael I'm so disappointed," AnnaLynne sad in a sad tone with a shake of her head, "I guess they'll just give scholarships to anyone if someone can walk up to you in a carnival and whoop that ass."

"Best two out of three," he said in a serious tone twirling the ball on his index finger and Kai chuckled bouncing the wall between his legs.

"You got it."

"First claim your prize," the man said with a grand gesture around him, pointing to a pink stuffed monkey and tossed it behind him to Caroline.

"Here you go."

"Really? Thanks," Care said with sincerity rubbing the stuffed animal's fur and Bonnie's insides warmed at the generosity, peering over to Kai who was already facing forward.

"I'm going to get a bottle of water, I'll be right back," Bonnie said looking over to the other concession stand, making it there and almost all the way back before she was stopped.

"You have the strongest energy out of everybody here," a thick Russian accent vocalized to her left staring at the older woman dressed in deep purples and a turban on her head.

"Excuse me?"

"Your… zest, spirit for life," she explained, "'tis far greater than the average person's. You and your friends, your power is great, but yours outshines the others."

"Thank you?" Bonnie responded in an unsure tone, taking a step back when she reached out and grabbed her hand.

"There is danger around you," the woman stressed with a somber expression, eyes boring into her own, "with you and someone close to your heart."

"What do you mean – who?" she spewed out apprehensively with a nervous tug of her arm.

"Hey, you alright?" Kai asked suddenly beside her putting his hand on her shoulder and the fortune teller dropped hers like she had felt an electric shock.

"I'm fine, just give me a second."

"Okay," he said with hesitation, waiting a beat before walking directly across to their circle of friends.

"It's him," she said with finality and Bonnie snapped her head back to the booth.

"He's the danger around me? Listen not to sell you short but you're not the first person to tell me that, I think I can handle him."

"No you misunderstood – _you_ are the danger that surrounds him."

"What…" she breathed in a soft tone.

"Be careful, young sorceress, you are up against the dark forces of fate and it is unwise to mess around with it."

"What-" Bonnie began again but why cut off by two girls cutting her off and sitting across from the fortune teller begging her to spill the details of their futures.

Taking a step back in a daze a person bumping into her pulled her from the fog and weaved through the crowd back over to the other side, glancing up at Kai examining her. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she uttered clutching the plush toy's head averting her eyes and speed-walked in any direction that was away from the fortune teller dropping bombs on her otherwise unstirred evening.

Leading the way she saw the familiar UFO ship that she favored when she was younger and found it oddly fitting that she was holding an alien while feeling like she was momentarily disconnected from the world, trying to piece together the foreign information she had just received. Hearing the vibrations from the conversations around her Bonnie kept quiet until they were inside the aircraft spreading out to find a comfortable spot, looking at no one in particular as one thought blended into the next wondering how _she_ could be any type of threat to _Kai._

The instant her back began feeling suctioned to the ride she looked around at her accomplices and smirked that everyone besides her and Caroline were fidgeting and throwing their bodies sideways to be plastered to the wall. Since there weren't many people on the ride each had a few seats length to mess around in and the Gemini's were taking full advantage, cracking up that Cody was able to flip completely upside down and dangled there. The lights went out and the strobe lights started flashing earning ruptures of merriment as the music picked up and everyone inside was yelling along with glee. As soon as it started to slow the coven was dropping one by one from the sudden force of gravity and Michael went down hard catching himself at the last second.

"Well that was hilarious," Care chirped looking at each of them, "you guys don't do anything half-assed."

"Not in our nature," Cody boasted proudly and Bonnie raised an eyebrow looking over to Kai who has mimicked that same line, wondering if an inflated ego was part of being a Gemini.

Stepping off of the ride and following the crowd she moved aimlessly behind, lost in thought, and didn't realize they had stopped until she bumped into Caroline. "Hey… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied rubbing at her arms feeling an icy chill, checking her surroundings to see if the fortune teller was nearby. "Why did we stop?"

"Ferris wheel," Care said looking overhead, "I'm pretty sure it's two each and there are six of us."

"Oh, okay, did you want to go on with me?"

"What, so AnnaLynne can go with Kai?" she said under her breath, "No thanks, I think I can handle a trip around the wheel with one of the boys."

The side of Bonnie's mouth curved up in a smirk, not even thinking about where the seating arrangements would leave everyone else and waited as Caroline got on with Michael and Cody saddled up beside AnnaLynne. As soon as they made it into their seats Kai pulled her up onto his lap so she was straddling him, hooking his fingers behind her knees to keep her anchored.

"You really don't like my coven, huh?"

"What?" she asked with scrunched eyebrows looking him over. "No, it's not that."

"Then what?" he inquired in a soft tone. "Why are you being so quiet?"

"I'm not meaning to, I'm just thinking."

"About what?" Looking into his eyes Bonnie could see the concern reflected back at her and felt a pang in her chest hearing the Russian accent telling her that she was the hazardous one in this relationship, shifting her gaze to the alien beside them. "Hey… talk to me."

"That woman… she said something to me about you, about us."

"Okay…" he uttered when she didn't go on and peered back at his patient stare.

"She told me that _I_ was the dangerous one – not the other way around, and said we were up against ' _the dark forces of fate'_."

"How _mysterious,_ " Kai oozed with a wide grin earning a glare from her, "it's just some crackpot making stuff up at a college carnival."

"But she called me a sorceress, she knew I was a witch, she knew that we _all_ are."

"She was probably just picking up on energies; Josette used to go to them too and they would tell us we were _vibrating with power_ but they never called her out on being a witch because they aren't actual psychics, they're just for show."

Digging her teeth into her bottom lip Bonnie couldn't shake the uneasiness swirling around her hearing the women's voice echoing inside her head, penetrating her weak spot. "I don't know."

"I'm not afraid of you, Bon," he declared with a sweet smile brushing his lips up the hollowed part of her neck to her cheek, "and it's not because I'm underestimating you – I know you could kick my ass if you put your heart into it, but I don't think you want to hurt me."

"I don't," she responded in a knee jerk reaction as his nose dragged across her face until they were eye to eye.

"Then I'm not worried about any imaginary forces at work," Kai said with an ease in his tone and pecked at her mouth tenderly until she responded, sliding her fingers in the back of his hair to press her body into his.

The kiss seemed to be over before it began, catching something in the corner of her eye and turning to their friends getting off of the Ferris wheel and would soon have a direct eye-line to them. Throwing a leg back over to one side Kai leaned over to kiss her cheek and reached down plopping the alien on her lap.

"You know that was pretty sweet that you won something for Care," Bonnie quipped looking over his face seeing the small grin starting to show.

"Well I couldn't exactly give you both of them when I'm trying to pretend that you don't mean more to me than her, but I'm glad that didn't irritate you more because I wasn't sure."

"Maybe if you gave it to AnnaLynne," she said over her shoulder stepping out of the cart hearing Kai snicker behind her.

Continuing on to the next event Bonnie could sense the heavy cloud over her lifting as the night went on, each ride sending a thrill down her spine and booths giving her endless entertainment watching the Gemini boys take on their leader to try and beat the top dog, unsuccessfully. They had just gotten done with destroying one another at bumper cars, laughing all the way down the ramp when Kai pulled her off to the side leading her to the photo booth tucked out of sight.

"Don't be shy, hop on in there."

Giving one last look to see if anyone was watching them she walked into the tiny booth and sat on the even smaller seat, Kai's bulking mass taking up too much space and lifted her off the seat placing her on his lap making them both more comfortable. Bonnie clicked the buttons wanting colored over black and white and chose the _Wanted: Reward 1 Million_ theme for their banner, leaning back and staring into the camera with wide eyes.

"I don't know what to do."

"Um, well it's a picture, so people usually just stare at the camera and smile," Kai teased and she turned to give him a glare, his cheeky smile spreading wide as a flash went off around them.

"Oh no, that's not supposed to count!" Bonnie argued watching the five second time tick down, blurting out another sentence of panic when she felt Kai's fingers curl around the side of her neck and turn her head crushing their lips together.

Unaware if the flashing behind her closed eyes was from him or the camera he pushed forward so her upper back hit the side of the booth and trailed down nipping at her neck. Wiggling his fingers into her sides Bonnie squealed and burst out into a fit of giggles trying to squirm away and saw another bright light blind her. Easing her back up she swatted at Kai's hands and couldn't suppress the happiness spilling out of her, looking away to try and gain control and saw yet another picture get snapped.

"Okay, okay, we can take a normal one," he said holding his hands up like he wasn't going to try anything before wrapping them back around her thighs and hip. "Say cheese."

Bonnie's mouth spread and held the word ' _cheese_ ' just to humor him and stared directly into the screen this time when the flash went off and spots appeared in her vision.

"I'm blind," Kai said anxiously through closed eyes whipping his head left and right, "they've taken my sight!"

Laughing at his ludicrousness she leaned in kissing both eyelids and then his lips, the vibrant blue orbs coming back into view sending a flutter through her system. "Better?"

"Much."

Squeezing her way out of the photo booth she checked the side to see where the pictures popped out and couldn't find the slot, rounding the corner to Caroline swiping them up to look at them.

"Care!"

"Oh my God you guys are cute," she beamed darting her head around quickly to make sure the coven didn't hear her. "Seriously, you should just drop the act and do this in public."

Thrusting the two rectangular sheets in her hand Bonnie held them up to her face and examined each picture, starting with the one where she's staring at him with an angry expression and he's looking back at her like he's having the time of his life. The second photo is the moment they locked lips with Kai's hand cupping her neck pulling her closer and her eyebrows are lifted up in surprise. The third is during her being mid-tickled and her head is thrown back open-mouthed with closed eyes and Kai's face is hidden from view against her neck. The next one she stared at longer than the rest because it was one neither of them were posing for and yet there was so much emotion in one picture; Bonnie looking off to the right away from him still laughing and Kai staring at her profile with a small smile dancing across his lips. The last photo was the only one that would be considered ' _normal_ ' with both of them posing with their genuine happy faces plastered on, the photo-op as a whole summing up what goes on between them quite fittingly.

"Hey I thought we lost you for a minute," AnnaLynne said walking up to them and Bonnie gripped the pictures hiding them behind the alien's head. "We ran out of tickets so we're heading out, just want to say goodbye."

"Oh, yeah, it was cool seeing you again," Kai said moving in to hug her briefly and reached behind her to fist bump Michael and Cody. "I'll see you guys around."

"Ladies," Michael purred lifting their hands to kiss the back of it, Cody's snort ruining his smooth tactic and threw up two fingers waving bye to the both of them.

"Well I had to give away almost all of my tickets so they could keep up but we still have some from each of yours so where do you want to go next?"

Bonnie didn't think it was possible to spend hours on end at a school or town carnival and continuously have a good time but Kai was putting her theory to shame as they made their way through just about every single ride and ventured over to the funhouse, the tie-dying station, and even a pie throwing competition where she got to beam a whipped pie at his face and nailed him dead on. The aftereffect that she should have expected was getting chased around the establishment by a wild man whose face was covered with whipped cream; feeling winded halfway through and was scooped up by the waist getting covered in a light dairy topping.

"I can't stand you," Bonnie got out through her giggles pushing away his stomach lightly and her face was covered in darkness as he wiped off her face with a towel he was still holding.

"You can't get enough of me," Kai corrected moving the towel out of her face to wipe off his own and she pursed her lips, his statement not entirely untrue.

"I guess that's a good thing since you're _always_ around," she stated rolling her eyes back, "and we're just about out of tickets so what's our final act going to be?"

"Well I left your friend back at the pies so getting her is step one, and then we can either go on _The Scrambler_ because it's a three person ride or else we can play another game."

"Let's find Care and see what she thinks," Bonnie declared and weaved through the crowd finding her friend exactly where they left her.

"Oh good, I didn't want to have to go out there to find you," she said relieved and Bonnie restated their current dilemma. "Ooh we should do the water gun race! We haven't done that one yet."

"Perfect," Kai nodded and Caroline led the way all lining up beside each other taking their positions, and went off when they heard the buzzer.

Bonnie didn't know how any of them were going to win since it was such a tight race and let out a sound of jubilee when the red light lit up over her target. "I won! I actually won one of these!"

"Winner gets to pick the prize," he sing-songed and he wiggled in her seat looking over the options, picking one with uncontained glee and sat the penguin who had black and white stripes, a black mask across his face, the plaque to hold up and a hat that said _'county'_ like he was in prison in front of Kai and he snickered at the plush toy, "Is this for me? You gave your toy away, how chivalrous. Although I do find him very fitting; thanks Bon."

"Anytime," she pepped hopping off of the seat, "and we have officially run out of tickets."

"I could still go for a candy apple though," Caroline added and Bonnie's stomach grumbled in agreement and before she knew it three caramel apples were being placed in front of her, each coated in something different.

"You like nuts on your candy apple?" Kai asked staring at Care's hand, "Odd."

"Not as odd as sprinkles, you can't even taste them through all of the caramel."

"Oh I can taste them, maybe not as much as Bon's chocolate chips," he chimed and she bit off a large chunk letting out exaggerated sounds of content.

Walking and talking they made their way out of the carnival and walked back down the path headed for the dorms, arriving sooner than she had expected and dropped Caroline off with a warm embrace and bright smile.

"That was fun," Bonnie perked putting on her seatbelt and biting into the other half of the apple.

"Yeah?" Kai grinned looking over to her, "good, I'm happy to hear it. But the night isn't over just yet; I still have a little something in store for you back at the house."

"What is it?" she wondered out loud, the anticipation raising the closer they got back home. "Supposedly it revolves around _ravaging me_ through the night, but I feel like you're up to something."

"I am – you just guessed it."

"Something _more_ , I just don't know what." Kai's lack of response and evil grin non-verbally answered her question and groaned not knowing what to expect, "Does this have to do with the other day; the whole ' _getting me back_ ' vendetta from catching you off guard?"

"That's a fair accusation," he said lightly and images started to conjure up of all the ways Kai could back at her sexually leaving her mind and body paralyzed after; images of being tied up and at his mercy pushing its way to her frontal lobe.

"But mine was just a sporadic impulse I didn't come up with a whole plan on how to get what I want."

"That is where we part ways," Kai winked and pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. "Do me a favor and count to thirty before you come in – and actually count them off because I need that amount of time."

Before Bonnie could answer he was out of the car and dashing up the walkway into the house, clucking her tongue to fifteen and stepped outside hitting the time limit when she reached the top of the steps.

"Ready or not, here I come…" Bonnie mumbled to herself and turned the knob, pushing the door open.


	32. Chapter 32

Bonnie wasn't sure what to expect when she walked into the house, but being enveloped in darkness so vast she couldn't see her hand in front of her face hadn't made the list. Fumbling blindly she kicked the door shut and reached along the left side wall for the switch, flicking it up and down quickly to no avail.

"Kai?"

Hearing the crackle of a flame igniting, the floorboards became alive in an instant by dozens of candles lighting at once. Her jaw unhinged seeing tea lights, pillars, votives, tapers, and even those big delicious smelling ones from _Yankee Candle_ scattered everywhere Bonnie looked; on the floor, up the stairs, across the tables and shelves – and that was just in the hallway. Whirling her head left the living room was illuminated in such a bright light she could see the speckles of red scattered over the couch and coffee table, stepping closer for a better look and kicking a tea light across the floor.

Checking her surroundings Bonnie realized she was in the middle of a path leading from the door down the hall and pivoting left into her bedroom, bending down to fix the candle and humming in the back of her throat picking up a handful of loose rose pedals near her feet. Clutching the stuffed alien and photo strips to her chest Bonnie slowly made her way down the pathway into the room and felt her heart swell and a heaviness formed behind her eyelids, stretching a smile across her face. Mini candles were spread out everywhere and the bedspread was covered in red pedals, moving beside it and gliding her fingers across the bottle of champagne stopping at the folded note hanging by a string around the top. Sliding it off she opened it and the note read in all capitals ' _IT'S MY TURN TO TORTURE YOU.'_

"Shit…" Bonnie uttered out loud and heard a rumble of amusement, looking up sharply to Kai lying on the other side of the bed.

"When did you – how long have you been there?"

"What – lying in your bed? Just now; I spent the rest of the time standing five feet in front of you to watch your reaction," he smirked clasping his hands behind his beanie with the penguin sitting on his sweater, "got to love that cloaking spell."

"Kai, what…" she trailed off, at a loss for words and dropped her voice to a whisper, "what is all this? And how did you do it so quickly?"

Kai's wolfish grin spread wide and she could see the mischief reflected in his pupils, hopping off the bed and strolling around until hard muscle hidden by soft material touched her arm and lifting his hands out doing jazz fingers. " _Magic;_ but this is just setting the scene; I figured it would look a little nicer than the luminescent house lights."

"Setting the scene for what?"

Instead of answering he reached behind taking off her necklace and placed it on the dresser beside them, pivoting Bonnie to slide his hands down her hips and under the hem of her shirt lifting it up slowly. "You seem tense, Bon, I think there's only one thing that will relieve the stress."

"And what's that?" she asked with a small smile, knowing where he was going with this.

"A full body rubdown," Kai declared with a single nod and she raised her eyebrows with wide eyes.

"Oh… really?"

"Mhm," he hummed pulling the material over her head and grazed her stomach trailing to slide his fingers into her yoga pants pulling them and her underwear to her ankles, crouching down with the motion.

Kicking off her shoes the bottoms were tugged off next and Bonnie let out a quiet moan feeling soft lips against her skin going up her thigh, across her stomach, and over her collarbone as he stood towering over her. Unhooking her bra Kai stepped back and his hungry gaze drank in every inch of her, the scrutiny making her squirm and moved closer pressing her palm against his sweater and yanking off his beanie with the other.

"I'm not going to be the only one getting naked here."

Chuckling Kai shrugged out of his jacket tossing it behind him and reached back gripping the fabric to pull it over his head, Bonnie's nails scratching across his hard ab muscles on their own volition. Bending to pull at the laces he yanked off each shoe and unbuttoned his jeans pushing them down unhurriedly, the sensual act of stripping in front of her making her breath catch. Standing tall she peered down to see Kai's boxers still on, reaching out for the waistband when his hand hindered hers.

"I can't go full on commando _and_ be expected to focus on the task at hand – or hands," he cooed with a wiggle of his fingers but all Bonnie could think about was the feel of his body moving against hers. Moving around her to pop open the bottle of champagne and pouring two glasses Kai plopped a strawberry in each and pivoted handing her one with an endearing smile, clanking their glasses and finished hers in one shot earning a deep sound of amusement. "Thirsty?"

"Very," Bonnie nodded and he poured another round of liquid into her empty glass, bowing formally with the bottle held away from him. "What a gentlemen."

This had Kai's laughter rolling when he leaned back and tilted the glass finishing its contents, taking two more large gulps herself before he put them both on the bedside table behind him with the bottle. "Lie down on your back."

Cocking an eyebrow at the backwards request she did as she was told and stretched across the mattress sideways gazing up at the ceiling. Hearing shuffling near her feet she glanced up to Kai popping grabbing a bottle of rubbing oil that she didn't recall buying and poured a line up each of her legs, rubbing another dollop in his palms to coat them. Starting on the bottom of one of her feet his thumbs gliding up through the middle had Bonnie kicking him in the gut from the ticklishness and a grunt left his lips.

"Sorry," she said with cheeks burning, "it…tickles."

Sniggering through his nose Kai pulled her foot up to his lips to kiss above her toes and went back to the gentle circles putting pressure in just the rights spots to send calming chills through her system. The pressure of his strength kneading against her taut skin relaxed Bonnie instantaneously and closed her eyes humming out in content as he went from one leg to the other giving attention to the balls of her feet, the arches, between her toes, and even the topsides.

Gliding over her ankles his touch traveled up either side of her shins to her knee and then back down raking his nails with it. Lifting a leg Kai pressed her foot against his core holding his hand there a beat longer signaling to keep it there and ran his fingertips up her calf massaging the tensed-up muscle. Bonnie's toes curled when he leaned closer bending her leg to cup her ankle pushing up and over to her thigh squeezing the quivering flesh. Proceeding up farther she inhaled slowly feeling him inch his way closer and blew out the breath when he retreated back with a simper, switching feet against his stomach to repeat the action.

The kneading eased every inch of her legs making Bonnie shiver at the thought of the flattery the rest of her body was going to get and a jagged sound crept up her throat when his thumbs dipped in between her parted legs and glided up along her groin.

"Kai," Bonnie sighed laced with desire and opened her eyes feeling his weight on the bed as he caged her legs between his and leaned back sitting just above her knees.

Sprinkling her stomach with slick oil one hand followed the other on the ascent from her navel, between her breasts and up her neck, craning her head back feeling him squeeze gently. Bonnie's erratic heartbeat was causing her exhales to come out in quick bursts as her chest rose and fell faster under his avid touch; deft fingers rubbing her stomach, hips, arms, neck, and paying extra attention to her breasts until she felt rabid with need. Writhing under his touch she could feel Kai's eyes on her through closed lids and couldn't win against the pull of wanting to make that connection, her line of view roaming constantly between his face, body, and the immediate surroundings. Lifting up onto one knee Kai murmured in a low tone to ' _roll over',_ a chill racking her frame as she obliged.

Sitting on the back of her thighs Bonnie gasped softly at the cold oil on her butt followed by a tender and assertive caressing. A choppy noise escaped her lips when one hand slid between her thighs massaging her most sensitive areas trailing in between her cheeks down to her folds and her body jerked into his touch with a white-hot craving for more. Continuing up her skin Kai ran both palms on either side of her back and his hands were so large his fingers curled around her waist and thumbs reached her her spine; believing he could fondle every inch of her all at once and it still wouldn't be enough.

Sensing his weight lifting to hover over her Bonnie felt his hard underside through his boxers pressing firmly between her cheeks, bending sideways to brush his lips up one of her hips and across to the space separating her shoulder blades. The soothing sensation of kneading against her skin brought forth vivid encounters of the potential opposite effect she could soon be exposed to; flashes of Kai holding her wrists together with one hand to keep her restrained, flipping her over and pulling her up by cupping her neck, pushing her spread legs back so her knees hit the mattress, and feeling him pound into her with a sense of possessive control – as if she was at his will – sending an unexpected thrill electrifying her system every time he pushed her out of her comfort zone.

"Kai… please," slipped out of Bonnie's lips in a small voice gripping the alien's head that was lying near the pillows and his mouth grazed her ear making her visibly shiver.

"Please what?"

Getting smacked with a dose of self-consciousness over how desperate she feels and sounds for him she dug her face into the comforter and arched her back so Kai's confined shaft slid farther between her inner thighs, huffing when she reached behind grabbing hold of his roots and pushed back into him harder.

"I want you," came out an octave deeper than she'd expected and he dropped his forehead to her shoulder grinding into her nakedness. Feeling the vibrations in his chest against her back Bonnie ran her other hand behind to curl her fingers around his waistband attempting to tug them down and heard a quick laugh that sounded like a moan against her ear before her wrist was brought back up near her face. Tickling his fingertips back down her spine and over the curve of one of her cheeks a sound of frustration revved in the back of her throat feeling like a caged animal. "I can't wait."

Gently pulling at her fingers locked in his hair Kai kissed her knuckles placing her hand back beside her and disappeared from view gliding his tongue over her shoulder and down her spine spine, gasping in surprise at the feel of his teeth clamping down on her other cheek before his weight lifted off of hers. "Come 'ere."

The low gravel in his voice had Bonnie responding on instinct, arching back to lift onto her knees with her face still against the comforter and a soft sigh protruded out of her when two fingers connected and slid in deeply. The beating in her chest traveled up to her throat feeling the tempo of it quicken and let out a gust of air when she slammed back into his intimate touch, rolling her hips to take in the full contact. Rocking into him she realized Kai was keeping his hand still giving her free range to go at whatever pace she wanted, using it to her advantage and grinded into him letting off some of the pent-up agony she's been harboring this past week.

"Mm I've missed this," he hummed sliding his thumb through her wetness and over her rear, speaking so quietly she had to pull herself out of the fog to be able to hear him. "The visuals, the sounds… touching you – I'll never get enough."

Kai's words set off a lit fuse in her core scorching her from within and her breathing turned harsh closing her eyes to focus on what was happening behind her, the sudden intense pressure of his thumb jerking her forward. Rubbing over the same spot Bonnie realized he was silently asking if it was okay to go farther and bit her bottom lip until her teeth left an indent underneath, thighs shaking in anticipation. Cursing internally that she would have to make her insatiableness known she glanced over her shoulder to Kai staring down to where she was moving around his fingers and seemed to sense her looking at him, flicking his dark gaze up to hers.

Unable to get the words out as if her throat was closing Bonnie managed to nod and felt an immediate constraint when the tip of his thumb pushed through forcing out something virile and primitive from deep in her stomach. Hearing Kai curse under his breath as his fingers curved her smile spread exultant that she was still able to affect him without physically touching him and rolled her hips inching him in farther causing her entire body to shake. Bonnie's own sounds became inaudible as she kicked into second gear rocking into him faster and cried out when he moved into her on her thrust back and felt the cool edges of the ring press around her most sensitive area, coming undone at the seams as the unexpected climax knocked the wind out of her.

Heaving in ragged breaths it felt like the room was spinning sensing movement behind her before his hand slipped away replaced by a powerful force inching its way in achingly slow. Bonnie's noises came out sharp through clenched teeth as every hard ridge pushed through her walls and didn't foresee the tug of resistance after not being with him for more than a few days at a time. One of his knees moved between her legs followed by the other sliding her legs out wide so he could sink down to the hilt and the ultimate wholeness she was experiencing clouded over her mind and brought glossy tears to her eyes.

Wet kisses trailed up her spine as hands pushed between her and the mattress to cup her breasts lifting her with ease, one moving to intertwine their fingers near her hip bone as the other slid over to play with her nipple. Lulling her head to his shoulder Kai nudged her temple to get access to her neck and slid his tongue along her erratic pulse dragging his teeth down as he went. Bonnie had expected his rough and aggressive side to come out since it'd been awhile since the last time they were together so she was more than a little taken back when everything she was receiving was to the contrary.

Instead of thrusting into her Kai moved comfortably rolling his whole body into it and ran his hands across her skin with gentle strokes rather than having his way with her. His hold on her was tight but it felt more like being enveloped in a warm embrace rather than suctioned to his front to hinder her movements from going anywhere and the ripples of affection caused Bonnie's heart to pound so rapidly she was certain it was going to burst and was blinded by a moment of clarity thinking ' _it's too much'._ A spasm racked her frame and knees gave out pulling Kai down with her coming down on the mattress with ease, a long moan spilling out of her lips as he continued to rock into her brushing kisses across her shoulder blades.

Tilting her chin towards him Bonnie could feel his heartbeat thrumming through his lips and smiled nibbling on the bottom one pulling his face in closer. Deepening the kiss Kai managed to slide out and flip her over with her only semi-consciously aware until she felt the tip pressing against her entrance, stopping his progression and leaning his head back an inch to look into her eyes. Flicking her gaze from one dilated pupil to the other something in the way he was staring at her made Bonnie's stomach tighten and twist, curling her arm between them to run her fingertips along the scruff on his jaw. Brushing his nose against hers Kai trailed his hand through her hair behind her ear and down from shoulder to hip, wrapping her legs around him when he reached the curve of her butt and slid his hand underneath lifting to pull her into a thrust.

A hoarse grunt left his lips and sweat misted across Bonnie's skin as he dragged his upper lip down her open mouth and brushed the bottom one over her chin on his way back up, swallowing her small whimper at the intimacy. Gliding her hands over his ribs her right index finger slid over the beginning of the scar slashing across his back and instinctively curled into him farther, a sharp memory of Kai bellowing out as a teenager breaking her internal sound barrier. Tracing the rough skin over the hard muscles she switched hands halfway through finishing the line over his opposite shoulder blade and he shuddered in response; Bonnie's heart banging around in her ribcage that the light touch across his scar still triggered a reaction proving her theories correct and bits of his nightmares began playing through her closed lids.

The brutal cracks of a whip, Kai's broken sounds of torment, Joshua's condescending persona amplified over his hatred spewed against his son, locking Jo out of the shed to keep her safe, the horrendous gashes splattered across his back displaying more open wounds than skin, a face so young and naïve that something inside her shattered seeing the hopelessness embedded in his features – all flashing before Bonnie's eyes and opened them wide wrenching her face away gasping for air. Kissing the hollow of her throat Kai's hand dragged down her cheek as his mouth trailed up and over the other to her nose, gazing down at her without a fleck of blue iris left.

"Kai…"

Bonnie didn't realize she had vocalized his name until he leaned back with a look like he was expecting her to continue, her mouth hanging open on words she was incapable of forming. Attempting to say anything to push past the awkwardness a garbled noise escaped her closed throat and eyes widened as her pulse pounded so violently she was sure she was physically vibrating. Slowing his already leisure movements down to a stop Kai focused in on her and Bonnie gazed back digging her nails behind his shoulders feeling vulnerable under his examination, clamping her mouth shut and grinding her teeth together.

"Yeah?" huskily slipped out rubbing his thumb over her jaw, fidgeting underneath him from the lack of activity and curved the corners of her mouth up speaking in a hushed tone.

"Move faster."

Barking out a surprised laugh Bonnie's expression shifted and breathed out as her chaotic insides relaxed with it, Kai's devious grin spreading and unhooked her ankles behind him pushing her calves over his shoulders. His palms planted beside her elbows opened her up more for him and the hard thrust pushed the frog out of her throat letting out a high-pitched howl from the contact of the tip hitting her deep bundle of nerves. Looking up at his clenched jaw Bonnie's eyes trailed down to where they were connected and felt a reckless yearning watching Kai's abs tighten and deep lines appeared separating his muscles on every drive forward, the temptress inside unsheathing her claws into his biceps.

The jagged breaths and ridged stance gave away Kai's dwindling restraint and ran her fingertips over his jaw and under his chin, leaning up to brush her lips over his and moaned at the tip of his tongue just barely grazing her front teeth. Hit with an acute need to see him come undone because of her Bonnie pressed her chest into his and massaged the back of his head, breathing out ' _let go_ ' against his cheek. A shiver racked his frame and drove forward automatically closing his eyes as carnal sounds spilled out triggering something deep in her core setting off her own release, Kai's trembling sending a heatwave under her skin and soothed him by kissing everywhere she could reach.

Lowering one of her legs Bonnie wrapped it back around his hip and his fingers slid to the back of her skull dropping his forehead to the crook of her neck, panting. Running her fingers through his hair the smile of content was just starting to spread when a thick Russian accent came screeching back through her subconscious making every muscle tense and freeze, Kai's head lifting abruptly back into view with eyebrows drawn.

"What's wrong?"

"N-"Bonnie began and turned squeezing her eyes shut as the warning rang back at her, Kai's thumb pushing her chin back to face him and told herself to open her lids into a concerned stare.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you?" she blurted as his abusive past and the woman's threateningly ominous memories clashed together and Kai arched his brow bemused. "No, that's… never mind."

"What's on your mind, Bon?" he asked with sincerity rubbing his thumb between her eyebrows, registering the uneasiness staring back at her.

"I don't want to be another person that hurts you," Bonnie admitted in a quiet tone, his worry line deepening a fraction before disappearing and a smile spread.

"Bonnie," Kai chuckled dropping his forehead briefly against hers, pulling out of her and dropping her other leg sliding a hand underneath her to keep her flush against him. "Is this about the head-case from earlier?"

"Kai, I believe her, the look in her eyes… she saw something, or _felt_ something."

"You believe it because she does, not because it's really what you feel."

"I can't stop thinking about it," she muttered dropping her gaze away inflamed with embarrassment.

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you something I haven't been able to get out of my head either?"

"Maybe," Bonnie mused flicking back up to his intense stare and he blew out a breath.

"Little Gilbert," he declared and clenched his jaw, looking over her face and curved the corners of his mouth up into a sad smile, "when he said anyone who's ever cared about me regrets it. He's not wrong, everyone… even Josette, I turned them all against me - made them wish they had never known me. I don't – I can't mess this up with you."

Kai's flushed face burned a darker shade of red and her head turned a fraction inspecting and analyzing a look she's never seen him wear before. Was it embarrassment over the topic, nerves spiking up which rarely happens when you live life without a care in the world, or something else? Bonnie had been so fueled over him spilling their intimacy all over the Salvatore's living room floor that Jeremy and Damon's rants had mostly gone in one ear and out the other, assuming it had been the same for _Mr._ _Easy Breezy_ ; apparently not.

"You actually listened to something Jeremy said?" she asked attempting to lighten the mood.

"I heard _everything_ he said, there's more but the rest at least I'm fairly certain isn't true."

"And you think this is?"

"I know it is, but I don't want it to be with you. I don't want you to wake up one day and resent me."

"Why do you think I would?" Bonnie questioned genuinely shocked curling her legs around him tighter and rubbing either side of his neck.

"Because I've gotten pretty used to that happening," Kai remarked with a gust of air that sounded like it was supposed to be a laugh and pushed her mouth into a smile contradicting the hard blows her insides were taking.

"Well I'm not like everyone else," she vocalized cheekily thinking the cliché line would erase the tension between his eyebrows but it only deepened.

"I know."

The finality to his statement brought an unexpected chill down Bonnie's spine and her mouth felt suddenly too dry to speak, licking her lips and swallowing the lump with difficulty. Not only was she taken back that something Jer said had actually resonated with Kai but it had done one better and lingered in the back of his mind like a small detonator going off by its own free will dragging his thoughts down into it.

"Kai," she croaked and cleared her throat. "I don't regret meeting you, or getting to know you, or caring about you – I am unexpectedly delighted with all of those things. I don't even know if I regret being stranded in your prison world anymore…"

That piece of information seemed to reach Kai and his gaze slid between hers, listening. "Why not?"

"Because you never would have been a part of my life, we wouldn't have ended up here in this bed," Bonnie trailed off holding his stare, "you'd still be trapped there. I mean I know your sister's saved you quite a few times but they weren't really _'fall into another dimension'_ rescue missions; I'd say I outshine the rest."

It was as if a calming storm settled over Kai draining his features of anxiety and peered at her a beat utterly expressionless before a corner of his lip turned up ever so slightly. "And I'd say you are right about that."

"See? So don't go worrying yourself, it doesn't suit you."

Kai's smile started to spread before it paused and a dark cloud masked over the brightness attempting to break free, reaching up with his right hand placing it over the back of her left curling his middle finger back to slide over her ring.

"I don't know what kind of reaction I'd have if you hated me… again," he finished with a soft chuckle.

"I told you I've never hated you – I just disliked you, but it was before I got you know you. I don't see you the same way anymore. And back then I was mildly afraid of you."

"And you aren't anymore?"

"Oh I'm terrified," Bonnie said through a bright smile, "but not for the same reasons."

A flare of uncertainty crossed over his face at the statement before a lightbulb went off and twisted into a rueful grin. "You know that seems to ring a bell; only I think your term of endearment was asshole, or maybe jackass, it's been awhile."

"That it has," she mumbled remembering the state of panic she locked herself in when her feelings for Kai started to push through her closed off mind, leaving her debilitated.

"What I said still holds true," he said nuzzling his nose against hers, " _I like how much you like me._ "

"I could have stroked out over the rollercoaster of emotions I've gone through since meeting you," Bonnie smiled and he moved his hand around hers pressing their palms flat and squeezed, an electric buzz sizzling through her fingertips like she was fully charged and let out a winded noise shaking with energy.

"Not on my watch," he pronounced huskily, the deep vibrato making her teeth chatter and looked over Kai's dreary state.

"Is that supposed to be ironic?" she tittered lightly, lifting her head to peck his cheekbone underneath his penetrating gaze. "Because I think I just saw your eyes drift off in different directions."

Snorting he dug his face into the crook of her neck tickling her with his facial hair and rolled onto his back with her on top moving sideways to land on a pillow, lids looking heavier by the second. The chill from the open window sent goosebumps across Bonnie's skin and leaned up reaching to the end of the bed for the folded up blanket and pulled it over her shoulders cuddling back into Kai's bulky frame. The way that he caressed her back at night as he drifted off had turned into something that Bonnie is not only comfortable with but has grown to seek out to feel that sense of security; the extreme disparities causing her to physically tremble and brawny biceps crisscrossed over her back pulling her in, humming in the back of his throat.

"I've only got eyes for you, Bon," Kai rasped sounding like he was speaking through more of a dream-state than subconscious, the casual comment going through her eardrums and seeping into her cerebellum lingering around the memories from the past that caused this severe insecurity.

"You sure about that, there are some model-worthy contender's out there."

"I know, I've got one right now," he murmured and she turned her chin in nuzzling her lips into his collarbone.

Bonnie wasn't sure if whatever she was feeling against AnnaLynne was self-conscious, or uncertainty, or if it was just plain jealousy but there was a vibe that his new ' _friend_ ' gave off whenever she was in Kai's presence that she couldn't shake. Striving for the higher root she has tried to just bite her tongue and hope that he picked up on what either of the girls were putting down and reacted to it, seeing how he's never been the type to not say what he thought about the subject matter. While AnnaLynne still gives him gooey eyes whenever he looks away Bonnie has to remind herself that for all this girl knows this hot and powerful leader of her coven is fair game and been alone for eighteen years, coming to the same rational conclusion that she herself had made when she was still trying to convince herself she didn't care about him. When it came down to it she knew every overwrought emotion about what their relationship together is was because of her own doing and she's not someone who would tell Kai who he could associate himself with, but it didn't stop the nagging voice of suspicion from whispering to her whenever they came into contact with each other.

Pushing her spiraling thoughts away from his coven the lingering pang of alarm and fear still sent a scorch through Bonnie's bloodstream over the ominous fortune cookie warning, and Kai's vulnerable omission had wound something up inside her core so tight it felt like she couldn't take a breath. Kissing under his chin his Adam's apple was thrumming when her lips passed over and moved down under his ear stretching her limbs out with a forceful yawn before every part of her deflated into him; the designs Kai traced along her rib-cage with his fingertip being the last thing she remembers before fading out.


	33. Chapter 33

Cruising through Mystic Falls with a set destination already planned out Kai allowed himself to daydream over the events leading up to this decision, starting with one of the most entertaining nights he's had since becoming one with civilization again. Back in high school he didn't gain the popularity status by being one of the jocks or thinking he's ' _too cool for school_ ', it was a blended cocktail of his comicalness, thrill to push the limits, and genuinely not giving a shit about anyone – or what they thought; thus resulting in a profusion of visits with Principle Stockwell who wouldn't admit it but not-so-secretly had a thing for him, and fleeing the scene from every public event before he had a call Josette for bail money. Bonnie had unknowingly recalled back to a precise moment Kai had experienced his senior year; climbing and sitting on the cart's roof at the tippity-top of the Ferris wheel because Dean didn't think he really would – Gabby was the opposite of pleased.

That free and easy way of living was always at Kai's most authentic when he was in a place that amps you up with adrenaline; a carnival, an amusement park, a concert, or trying something exhilarating for the first time, to name a few. Whatever else that was swirling around his thoughts quickly took a nosedive into deep waters where they were too murky to distinguish and last night was no exception. All he was focused on was Bonnie and Caroline and wanting them to feel as revved up as him, grateful that it took minimal effort before the two were jumping around excitedly and skipping off to rides together.

The night had taken an unexpected turn when they bumped into Anna and her friends that soured even more with Bonnie's diminishing energy but there wasn't a chance their good night was going to end like that, especially when there was even more waiting just inside a blackened house. Kai hadn't put much thought into exactly _how_ he was going to repay her for the physical onslaught he endured last week being almost brought to his knees, when a memory seeped in of Bonnie melting into the floorboards in the Paris hotel when he pressed his thumb to her skin massaging a kink out of her neck. Once that key ingredient was discovered the rest fell into place on its own until he was left standing in the middle of a store with a cart full of candles and packs of rose pedals, setting it all up in _gold-medal_ worthy time with the help of his magical touch.

Every ounce of anxiety flushed from Bonnie's face the instant the flames ignited illuminating her face and felt the tightness from suspense in his chest lift being replaced by an ache that only amplified the farther into the house she went. Kai wouldn't have called himself a _bad_ boyfriend when he was with Gabby – he never cheated on her, and that whole ' _abused becomes the abuser'_ saying didn't describe him in relationships – but he could admit to coming up short on a few significant aspects, like not being as attentive, caring, or invested in the girl as he should have been. With Bonnie everything was… _more_ ; what he felt, how he went about showing it, where he wanted it to progress to, and most importantly who the girl was and where she fit in his life.

Watching her fill up with joy set off Kai's own ripples of euphoria and every thought of a potential endgame for the night dissipated, filling the gaps with wanting to run his hands over every inch of her skin and take his time with her. Seeing Bonnie writhe underneath his touch with small sounds of needing more did him in and couldn't move once his fingers found their way in wary that he would take control and dominate their special night. What may have surprised Kai more than anything else within the night was how wrong he was about that train of thought; not knowing until they connected that all of his pent-up sexual energy would alter and his main focus would turn to holding Bonnie close and not wanting to stop or let her go.

Something felt different between them - it could have just been him that felt it, but once they were face to face and wrapped up in each other he felt a shift in the room. Kai caught himself more than a few times drinking in her every feature and cataloging it to memory, the urge to never leave the bed almost too irresistible to pass up. When Bonnie uttered his name the distress in her tone sounded like nails on a chalkboard, his heartbeat skipping seeing the same emotion etched inside her wide eyes and froze waiting for her to express whatever was making her look so torn. When her mouth clamped shut he knew she wasn't going to tell him and didn't press it when she made a joke instead but the panic swelled back up inside when she tensed underneath him after they had finished. Blowing out a gust of relief hearing her worry over the fortune teller that spooked her Kai assumed that's what was on her mind before and attempted to ease it by imploding his own.

Jeremy's whiny voice had oozed into his thoughts during the most unsuitable times since New Year's Eve insistent on ruining his mood as much as possible and thought if he didn't vocalize it then it was going to combust out of him. One of the main things that unnerved Kai was that Gilbert had said it in front of the both of them, presuming his accusations of being branded a toxic safe-hazard who was incapable of love or commitment had also impacted Bonnie's already shaky outlook on him but to his astonishment she looked authentically confused on why her ex's words would have such an effect on him. Instead of lingering on what was eating at him she eased his fevered brain saying something that Kai didn't even realize he needed to hear until it was out there; that Bonnie didn't regret getting trapped in his prison world because she wouldn't have met him, or saved him.

Once that declaration was made something clicked that he needed to repay the favor – to make things right – by getting the _supernatural hit_ lifted off of her from his dad which was his own fault. Kai has wanted to bombard Bonnie with his presence since they met unbeknownst to why that is but since the merge the emotion has been replaced by a need, not only to be around her but protect her; from her ungrateful friends, supernatural forces lurking around the corners, and even against some of the traits of his former-self. The unwavering impulse to keep Bonnie safe was compelling him to right his wrongs and the monster from his past was at the top of that list seeming to have a fixation on his girlfriend, an issue Kai just couldn't continue to let slide.

The few hours of sleep he received was spent tossing and turning until he pulled himself out of bed at 6AM, slid on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and headed off for the one person who would be able to tell him where their father was hiding. Pulling up in front of Whitmore hospital Kai hopped out of the car heading for the wing he found Josette in before and made his first round peeking into open doors before strolling up front to the main desk with a middle-aged man behind the counter.

"Good morning Sir, I'm hoping you can tell me if you've seen my sister pass by recently, Dr. Josette Laughlin?"

"Dr. Laughlin," he hummed tapping his chin, "I'm not sure if she's still in the building, she had one more patient to check up on then her shift was over."

"Okay thank you, do you happen to know…" he trailed off pointing to either side of him asking which direction she went in, the man pointing in the direction he had just come from and tapped the counter in thanks. The locator spell he did on her indicated she was in the building when he left the house and knew she couldn't have gotten far, steering down a few flights of stairs leading to the back lot where the workers parked spotting a familiar face unlocking her door. "Hey sis!"

Whirling her head Josette's eyes widened before squinting into a glare of disgust, pulling at the handle and swinging the door open the same time he reached the passenger side sitting shotgun. "Kai, get out of my car!"

"What a coincidence running into you here; how's life been since becoming one with the mere mortals?"

"Liberating," she mumbled throwing her stuff in the backseat, "I haven't had to deal with a single Gemini-related issue since I gave away my powers – or had to see you."

"Yeah, I'm kind of here to ruin both of those streaks," Kai shrugged ducking his head to look at her face standing outside of the car. "I need you tell me where dad is."

"Not a chance," Josette scoffed slamming the back door shut and then her own, taking the hint and stepping outside leaning his forearms against the open frame.

"It's not what you're thinking… at all," he finished with a sharp laugh, "I don't want to find him to kill him – well actually I couldn't anyway but those two reasons do happen to coincide with each other. The night of the merge dad linked his life to Bonnie's when I didn't take the bait to go to her instead of the twins and I need him to take it off of her."

"So you have nothing to stop you from enacting your revenge," she remarked in a condescending tone with a wave of her hand, "and kill one of the only family members I have left."

"Please, he never even knew what that term meant," Kai responded swiftly and eased his tone back seeing her anger flare from the other side of the vehicle, raising his palms forward signaling he's not here to fight. "Josette all I'm thinking about is keeping Bonnie safe. She's important to me, I care about her – a lot, it's pretty aggravating, really. You used to tell me that I meant more to Gabby than she did to me and I needed to ' _express myself_ ' more, and with Bonnie I do. I finally know what you were talking about and it's different with her, it's – it feels more _real_ somehow."

Kai hadn't realized he was rambling until he caught his sister's expression shift and stared him down looking like she was peering into his soul. "You like Bonnie?"

"I do."

"Are you dating?"

"We are."

Eyebrows raised Josette opened her mouth and shut it when nothing audible came out, clearing her throat and trying again. "What do you mean by ' _more_ _real'_?"

"I don't even know," he let out truthfully scratching at the back of his head, "it just feels… unlike anything I've had with other girls. I want to be around her all the time even when she's mad at me, I feel better when she's in a good mood, I actually give a shit about her life, and her problems, and… her. Gabriela was great and a nice girl but I never stressed over the thought of her having enough and walking away, but with Bon that crosses my mind roughly once a day. I've tried to do locator spells to find the ex-leader but he must still have some special mojo left over that can keep him cloaked from me. Do you still have your memories intact of us growing up or did he wipe yours too?"

"They're still there."

"Then you should know I've made less than a handful of promises to you in our lifetime because I knew I could never keep them, but this is one that I can; you have my word I'm doing this for her freedom. Bonnie's had to deal with enough in her short life I don't want my past popping up and ruining everything, please, I need your help Josette."

Rocking from one heel to the other the permanent expression of disdain whenever she looked at him momentarily drifted, the scrutiny in her examination raising the hair on the back of his neck. Pursing her lips Josette stayed silent for over a full minute having internal dialogue hour while Kai was left hearing his pleas to his twin reverberating back at him.

"You seem different," she stated after what felt like an eternity, cocking a brow at the remark.

"I wouldn't expect to hear that from you."

"You can't be as shocked as I am that I'm actually _saying_ it, but there's something," Josette expressed looking him over with a baffled expression, " _I almost believe you._ "

"Yes!" Kai vocalized with excitement slapping the door's frame, "If I can convince the good twin that the bad one isn't so… well, evil – than maybe my declaration to the old man isn't as much of a lost cause as I'm expecting."

"You don't think he'd lift the spell?"

"What, out of the goodness of his heart?" he snorted rolling his eyes back, "I don't see him doing any favors for me, but if it's along the lines of a mutual transaction then it's possible."

"And what would you be bringing to the table on that arrangement?"

Kai pulled out his sweatshirt pockets highlighting their emptiness and teetered back on his heels. "I'm willing to compromise on whatever he has in mind."

"You would just throw the ball into his court with no backdoor retaliation plan in motion?" Josette stated knowing him all too well from their conquests growing up and laughed quietly looking down at his hands, spinning the ring around his thumb.

"If it results in the way that I'm hoping for, then yeah. I mean I'd be non-verbally renouncing my power against him making him no longer a threat so really, what else does he want?"

"And you're being serious; you would really swallow the grudge you've had with a man since you were thirteen if he unlinked himself from Bonnie?"

Teeth gritted a kaleidoscope of images played through, the echoes of his father's venomous voice spewing loathsome opinions that he used to take as factual booming back at him. Kai despises Joshua Parker; what he stands for, where his priorities lie, and how he treats people but it is still miniscule compared to the hatred he's always felt in reciprocation. He stopped trying to figure out a long time ago the method behind the ex-leader's madness and wholeheartedly didn't care because he wasn't Kai's main focus anymore, the girl who was being put in potential risk because of him is.

"Yes."

Lifting her hand to bite the side of her thumb nail – a tell his twin used to do when she was struggling with a decision – Josette glanced between him and the car half a dozen times before slamming her palm against her jeans.

"Fine, I'll take you there."

"You'll – wait, what?"

"The only way you're going to find out where dad's been staying is if I come with you."

"To keep an eye on me?"

"To keep an eye on _both of you_ ; deal?"

Reading her non-defensive stance and not as lethal of a tone in her voice Kai went with it and yielded with a single nod, agreeing to her terms. "You got it sister; where to?"

"To bring you around front to get your car for starters, you can follow me from there."

"Don't want to ride over with me?"

"This will be more convenient," she brushed off and he lifted a palm to his chest rearing his head back.

"Ouch."

Not finding any humor in his presence whatsoever she reached for the handle sliding into the driver's seat and Kai copied her movements, swinging around up front to get behind the wheel of his beauty and followed behind Josette's modern-day automobile. Weaving back through the same streets he had a moment of disorientation thinking he was just driving back to the house when the blinker in front of him indicated it was turning left – one street after Bonnie's. Grating out a ' _son of a bitch_ ' his wheel spun and pressed on the gas heading down the dead end street stopping at the last house on the right. Walking up behind Josette's car he knocked on the hood and she stepped out sliding her cell into her purse.

"I had to call to make sure he's awake, it's seven o'clock in the morning."

"So he knows I'm here."

"Yes. I could have called when we left the hospital to give him time to leave or try to sabotage you but I didn't," she reminded him and Kai tilted his head from side to side in consensus.

"True, but I'm still not going to drink the water," he retorted and opened his mouth in a wide smile seeing the smallest glimpse of one cross her face. "Besides wasn't there a horror movie based off of this very scenario?"

"That's ' _Last House on the Left_ ', genius."

"Close enough," Kai murmured looking over the small and ordinary looking house – much like Sheila's, and headed for the main door ready to confront his adversary knocking three times.

"Malachai," his father greeted with smugness holding onto the side of the door," I was wondering when you'd show up on my doorstep."

"Well if I knew you were staying down the street I would have stopped by with a fruit cake a lot sooner," he chirped sliding his fingers into his back pockets, "mind if I come in?"

Taking a step back and gesturing into the house Kai's shoulders tensed stepping through the threshold of the small but quaint house, peering around at the sparse interior design.

"Good morning Josette."

"Hey dad."

"Nice digs," Kai mused pivoting to lean against the wall, "did you kill the owners to stay close by or just pay them off?"

"Neither," Joshua said briskly, closing the door and striding in front of his crossing over into the living room planting himself in a recliner. "I live here."

"You're not in Kansas anymore, pops, we're a long way from home."

"It shouldn't come to much of a shock that what's left of our family fled from that horror show the day after you were gone." Kai shifted his line of view from his father across the room to his sister who was avoiding his gaze. He assumed they hadn't stuck around building snowmen in the backyard until this Christmas when he made his way out but it still sucked to hear that May 10th 1994 was the last memory imprinted on his childhood home. "We still have a residence in Portland as well as a few places along the coasts but I wanted to stay close to Mystic Falls in case you ever figured it out and escaped."

"' _Figuring it out'_ and ' _executing the plan'_ are two very contrastive notions," Kai corrected stepping inside the room and sitting across from him on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees. "I always was curious, was my access point for jailbreak over here because of Sheila?"

"It was part of our agreement, yes; she wanted to be the first one notified with the shortest distance to your doorway to Hell."

"She could have opened it to let a breeze in every now and then," Kai retorted cheekily, wondering how Bonnie's grandmother would have reacted when he finally made it out with her granddaughter by his side. "But that's in the past; I want to talk about what's going on right here in present day."

"Okay."

Opening his mouth to speak he hadn't realized that he clogged his mind up with having to find his dad to get the binding spell lifted that he hadn't left enough room up there to brainstorm what he was going to say when he found him. Kai was getting weighed down on either side of him like a scale; drifting between wanting to put it all out there like he just had with Josette to make him understand and believe what he's saying, and sticking by his gut warning him not to let his rival get the upper hand by seeing what's going on inside him.

"So I know I may not have been the most stable person when I got shipped off to _eternal damnation_ which is why I get you being so skeptical and cautious when I came back. But the thing is, after the merge happened something in me changed and I got… better – from your sociopathic standards, anyway – and because of that I've been able to perceive and act on things in a way I wouldn't normally. I mean I haven't even gotten into a verbal argument with someone let alone physical, and I'd like to highlight each and every Parker is still alive and well and the coven hasn't combusted with a new leader in town either. As far as your life goes specifically, I'm not a threat to you – so long as that goes both ways, which means there's really no need for you to keep the linking spell on Bonnie anymore."

"Is that so?"

"That it is," Kai quipped and inhaled deeply biting his tongue to keep the sarcasm at bay.

"And why should I believe that when you've had six weeks to come to terms with this _'revelation of change_ ' and come find me? What made you come here today?"

Grinding his teeth together he was still attempting to come up with a way of getting his dad to do what he wanted without actually _vocalizing_ his needs, certain that if the he knew what Kai was after than he'd turn it down out of spite.

"I want to make amends, right my wrongs; do all of the guilt-ridden deeds that I wasn't graced with before. I made my decision that night to do what was best for me and someone else ended up paying for it that didn't deserve it. I'm willing to bury the hatchet of our dysfunctional relationship and let that part of me stay trapped in the prison world if you lift the spell."

The way his father was staring at him gave Kai the urge to shift in his seat and cleared his throat instead, glancing right at Josette still hovering in the entrance to the room watching them converse.

"Really?" Joshua hummed folding his hands in his lap seeming eerily tranquil, "That's a lot of history to leave behind."

"I know."

"And you were never one to let go of things easily."

"That's still true," he chuckled reflecting on how much more possessive and paranoid he's gotten since he was blasted with his kryptonite of emotions, "but I'm more selective about it now. I've had a lot of time – more time than I would ever need – to be alone and go over every little detail of my life until I drove myself to the point of insanity, and by then plotting revenge against you was on the backburner to just getting out of solitary confinement. Once I came back I figured my frame of mind from before would come back and pick up where I left off but then all I wanted was do the ceremony with Josette to ensure my safety against you, which in turn you then did to Bonnie to protect yourself from me. I was more of a danger to you before that faulty twin-flip and it's not because I'm just not able to right now, I don't have that overwhelming _need_ to get even with you or show you up like I used to. I'm putting an offer out on the table that is open to discussion on the details over how it gets done but will result in your freedom, you have my word, or we could do a magical handshake if you know one."

"You seem very committed to this discussion," his dad nodded stating the obvious and Kai lifted his brows in agreement, "but is it because of this transformative way of thinking and feeling since merging souls with your brother, or could it be something more?"

"What's more wild than fusing souls together and spitting out a new version of yourself?" Kai teetered, it momentarily slipping his mind that the one person who would be able to know with clarity the metamorphosis you undergo after that ceremony is the man who believed he wasn't put together correctly the first time. "I'm a whole new me."

Joshua gave him a once over and he could hear the skepticism that was racking around his father's skull that he was incapable of change or anything real on the human spectrum. "And what does this version of you come with?"

"A conscious and sense of morality are two big contenders, don't recall being too keen on those terms when I was a kid or this ' _taking the higher road_ ' course that Josette was always pushing on me. Now that I'm back with a second chance I don't want to waste it doing the same things that landed me in that place, I'm not going to put all of my energy into the things that make me angry anymore."

"Where will your focus turn to?"

"My life, the coven, school," Kai chuckled with a shake of his head, "ordinary college-kid obstacles aside from being the leader of a group of magical beings."

"What about a girl?" his dad inquired and he fought the urge to ball up his hands, honing in on his steady breathing and keeping his face expressionless. "It was brought to my attention more Gemini's moved east, some right under your nose."

"Yeah I met some in their own little circle, they seemed alright."

"One of them you knew already, right?"

"Ash's little sister," Kai responded looking over to his sister, "who did not ' _grow up to be a nuisance'_ , at least not yet from what I can tell."

Josette's noncommittal raise of her shoulders turning her head away like she didn't believe him had the humor bubbling up his throat when his line of view sliced back to his father's eyes on him.

"She does seem like a nice young lady," Joshua conceded, not knowing where he was going with that so he nodded in agreement. "Are you not trying to pursue things with her because you still have something ongoing with Miss Bennett?"

"Pursue things… with Anna, that little pig-tailed girl from a lifetime ago? No I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work out for a number of reasons, me remembering her as a child being right up at the top."

"Along with your affection for your savior, as well," he stated turning the conversation back and Kai's jaw locked up tight. "I thought we were being honest with each other, Malachai. Isn't Bonnie's safety the real purpose behind you coming here? You may have not known where I've been staying but your non-inconspicuous vehicle led me to your current residence fairly quickly, and it was not to my surprise that I found it stationed outside of Sheila's. So why do you really want me to cease the spell?"

"Because I don't want her life bound to yours for all eternity, and like I said I feel bad about the situation I put her in and want to make it right."

"Nothing else?"

"None that's coming to mind."

"What about how you feel for her, is that effecting your decision making process? If you're upfront with me than I'd be more inclined to reciprocate the same way."

Kai stared down the man holding Bonnie's life source in his hands, asking him to put their liaison out on the table for him to pick apart in hopes that it'd be enough to gain her independence but he knew his dad better than anyone, and something didn't feel right.

"Just tell him some of the stuff you told me, Kai," Josette suggested taking this moment to speak for the first time making his temperate rise, moving his eye-line slowly to her and back to a pair of raised brows.

"Please, share whatever is on your mind."

"There's nothing to tell; I found the sister, who led me to the father, who I have high hopes will aspire to take the hit off of the girl who did nothing to him. What kind of deal do we have to strike to make that happen?"

"Tell me the truth."

"I _am_."

"About Miss Bennett," he specified leaning back and crossing a leg resting his ankle on his knee, "why are you here, son?"

The familial term spiked Kai's pulse elevating his tension and gripped his thumb so tightly in his fist the knuckle cracked, the placate in Joshua's manner just pushing his hostility farther. It should ease his mind in some way that his dad didn't slam the door in his face and is hearing out what he has to say but being forced to admit to the single individual that shredded every ounce of good from his existence that he's found a new beacon of hope is something he hadn't realized would be so back-breaking until Kai was face to face with him.

"Bonnie's a good person – better than all of us, she shouldn't have to be the one to get stuck in the middle of our _Cane and Abel_ battle. This is over the things that I've done and the fears that you've had, one I can't do anything about but I can at least appease the other by being here – not avenging some age-old vendetta – which should assist in proving my change in character. I want to move forward and focus on _new_ things not the burden of the past and this one specific action you took is hindering it. I don't know how else you want me to prove it but I'm not trying to convince you to do this as a rouse to lower your guard, it's an olive branch signifying if you unlink your life from Bonnie's than the both of you will be considered a ' _free man_ ' as opposed to constantly looking over your shoulder. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me, possibly even better than you deserve."

"Then why grant me that clemency?"

"I'm not doing this for you," Kai let slip and quickly recovered, "you're just not worth the headache anymore."

Bumbling out a hum of amusement Joshua scanned between him and his sister sliding the side of his index finger across his chin, the dead air between them stretching on for more than a minute.

"I'll put it into consideration," reverberated through his eardrums and squinted staring into his father's gaze, waiting for the catch, "If you answer one question for me."

"What's that?"

"Do you love Miss Bennett?"

" _What?_ " protruded out of his vocal cords an octave too high, eyes darted between the two family members. "Do I – no, I – I can't. I mean I've never… _that's_ your question, really? Coming from the one who seared it into my brain that I was _incapable_ of loving anyone; yeah, that's rich."

"Yes but if you believe you have morphed into a greater man with deep rooted emotions like you say, than surely you must have contemplated if you were able to experience love as well."

The space in his ribcage felt like it was compressing sucking his oxygen out with it and his pupils blew in and out of focus hitting Kai with a sharp case of vertigo, inhaling deeply and holding it until his heart felt like it was going to explode. With shaking hands he wiped his clammy palms against his jeans trying to push himself through this frozen state numbing his brain making the act of forming words seem next to impossible. Needing to say something before his dad pressed on farther Kai went with the only thing that he's ever believed about himself when it came to caring deeply for another person – he couldn't.

"No, I don't."

"Hm," Joshua said barely audible giving a long look over to Josette who was watching her brother, none of the three connecting eyes with each other.

Turning back to face him the panic-stricken anxiety that used to overcome Kai when he jolted awake from a night terror unsure if he was still trapped inside his mind settled in the pit of his stomach seeing the shift in his foe's expression spreading throughout changing his entire demeanor. With shoulders pushed back he dropped his leg standing tall and Kai followed his movements, muscles tensing when a hand came down patting his bicep and gripping it loosely.

"Dad," Josette interjected at the contact but neither man reacted.

"I know she is the one that broke you out of prison and you both feel a fusion of appreciation because of it which is very common, but be wary, Malachai. The Bennett's and Gemini's go back for generations but go together like oil and water, we just don't blend well."

"Why not?"

"It's been that way for as long as I can recall, I don't know the specifics of its origin; amazing companions and power to have on our side though. I hope you'll take my words into consideration. In the meantime, get to know your younger Gemini peers and enact what you came back to do; _lead this coven._ "

"Huh, you know I really wouldn't expect to hear that from you, I figured you were out plotting your way to get the _almighty_ status back."

"This is your time son, do your best to keep the coven in one piece. But as far as Miss Bennett's predicament goes I still have to mull over a few variables before I can make any final decisions."

"Any way I can speed along that process?"

"Prove to me everything you told me today is true," Joshua said simply, biting his tongue and nodding in response. "And prove me wrong."

Drawing in his bottom lip to dig his teeth in a thickness pressed into Kai's skin scorching him through to the bone, every part of him feeling like it was being set ablaze. ' _Boiling rage_ ' was the term he used to describe to Josette for how he felt when he was alone with their father, the tension between them inevitably breaking free and becoming a physical being in the room fueling the both of them until one of their fuses ignited.

"Be sure to call me if you have any epiphanies in the middle of the night," he grinned brazenly and pivoted heading for the door, not stopping until he felt a hand reach for his forearm when he reached the car.

"Hang on a second," chimed behind him and turned to Josette's blue irises matching his own, checking over her shoulder to see if Joshua was hovering near the door or windows. "You didn't tell him about you two."

"Good thing since he seems to believe in folklore that I've never heard of," Kai remarked gripping his keys in a fist. "What was he talking about?"

"Beats me, dad's not really the ' _sharing with the rest of the class'_ type of guy. I do remember him saying we shared a connection with the Bennett's and that's why we could trust Sheila with the prison world spell but never anything about them not meshing well with us."

"Yeah I'm not convinced by some myth our ancestors probably made up to hide the fact that they were hooking up too – that pattern running in the families would make more sense."

"Well I'll still keep my ears open, see if I can fish out any new information."

"Thanks, sis," he vocalized in an unsure tone and she smiled for the first time all morning.

"Dad might not have heard the things you said about Bonnie, but I did, and it was pretty convincing. Don't let him screw it up. I'll call you if I hear anything; I have to get home before I pass out on the drive home."

"Okay," Kai chortled grinning at the person he used to spend every day with and waited until she was in the driver's seat speeding away before opening his door.

With one last look at the front of the house Kai swung the car around driving back down from where he came from, taking the first right onto the main street and the next onto Bonnie's. Mind filled the last tidbit of that conversation he waved his hand over the locked door stocking down the hall and stopped dead in his tracks when his line of view landed on a curled up ball underneath the sheets. Bonnie hadn't woken up from his early departure and was still blissfully unaware of the ringer Kai had just went through, the decision to jump out of bed to find his sister seeming like something he conjured up three days prior.

Kicking off his shoes as he dragged himself to the other side he pulled the sweatshirt over his head and unbuckled his belt dropping everything where he stood crawling under the covers in search of body heat. The instant cold hands wrapped around Bonnie's stomach to pull her backwards her frame shivered and threw herself into his torso drawing her legs up and pulling him in tighter. Leaning forward Kai enveloped her nakedness nuzzling into the crook of her neck and breathed in the scent of shampoo, his muscles relaxing with the exhale. Fragments of his and Joshua's voices chimed through picking apart their points of view until one line rang out with clarity, springing his lids open with it.

' _Do you love Miss Bennett?'_

The question was the equivalent of pulling the release string and no parachute comes out, looking down as the harsh impact of Earth rapidly approaches and not a damn clue what to do about it. Kai didn't even realize he was free-falling, content with just enjoying the ride that he semi experienced with Gabby but wasn't prepared for the storm of emotions ripping up everything he once believed by the roots and clouding him with unwarranted and impactful thoughts. He knew he felt things strongly towards Bonnie and spent most of his time trying to convince her that it was genuine but he never gave himself a moment's pause to wonder _what_ exactly those feelings were, or why they kicked up a notch after the merge.

Even when the two of them were in the prison world Kai underwent similar mindsets that he had during his relationship in high school and speculated over how he could come to the same conclusions with someone who was his girlfriend vs. a girl who didn't even want to consider him a friend. There was something about Bonnie that drew him in immediately, unable to fight against the pull – not that he was trying to, anyway – but the force grew stronger as the months passed until they were both entwined in a vise-grip locked in the other's embrace. Kai couldn't explain it but he felt reckless when she wasn't around him, like he was a wild animal backed into a corner ready to attack anyone that got too close and couldn't reign in his defensiveness until he saw her face again.

The real kick is that when Bonnie was finally within his vicinity he felt _nervous_ , which – what the hell is up with that? Seeing how he has never once felt anxious in anyone's presence and that includes during the ex-leader's savagery ' _teaching lessons'._ What he once considered authentic affection for the witch who was debating if he was worth saving seems like a watered down childlike happy meal version of the stressed out and confused mess he can turn into nowadays. Kai wasn't an idiot, he was more than aware that he stuck Bonnie in a category all of her own awhile back and that he was at long last able to requite the devotion expressed towards him, but he has assumed these were the things you felt when you liked someone and wanted to date them.

Craving being near them, the rush of electricity you feel when they're around, the _never-before-felt_ uneasy butterflies banging around in his ribcage, being coy and goofy and awkward all to get her to laugh are all feelings that Kai cursed to the winds during every failed attempt in getting to know a girl in his teen years. During his full year of a relationship he had told himself to participate and act the part of who he was supposed to be so much that there were fleeting memories were he induced his mind that it was real but not a single instance he conjured up could compete with what he felt for Bonnie on his worst day.

Flipping the switch of his humanity opened up his system like a deaf person hearing for the first time, taking in everything all at once and not able to decipher through the unknown territory with someone or something steering him in the right direction. The ultimate form of irony that really took the wind out of his sails was that the guy who warped his mind into believing no one could love a defective person making him unfit to show it back is now asking him if he is in love with the witch who consumes his mind – and he didn't know how to answer that.

Jumping at the tremble that shook Bonnie as it spread throughout her body she inhaled sharply through her nose and gripped his forearm feeling taut all over. Moving her hair out of the way he brushed his lips down her offbeat pulse lifting his hand off her ribs to run his fingers over her firm grip. Staying that way for another minute Kai felt the tension slip away from her tired state and blew out a long breath, rolling over with a bit of work landing her cheek on the edge of his pillow and smiled wide at her sleep-rumpled state.

"Bad dream?" Nodding and pressing into him farther her face dug into his collar and arms wrapped around his neck tugging him closer, lifting one of her knees over his hip to connect them at multiple angles. "What was it about?"

"Vampires," Bonnie mumbled and sighed making a sleepy whiny sound, "when I don't have to deal with their problems during the day they bother me while I sleep."

"Bloodsuckers, no sense of day and night anymore," Kai scoffed and she vibrated with laughter, her deep sounds echoing in the hollow of his neck sending chills down his back and hummed out scratching at the back of her skull. "I'd like to see your buddies try and get past me when I've got you like this."

"Caveman," she grunted making him snigger and lifted her head to look at him through barely opened lids, "and in case you forgot this house is already locked down like a _vampire-proof_ panic room; I don't need your protection."

"You still have it," he said softly and bumped his nose to hers, Bonnie's eyes darting away looking bashful and back with a small smile kissing the side of his mouth.

Warmth bloomed out from Kai's sternum and turned to seal his lips over hers, the corners curving up hearing her sleepy sounds and his arms tightened pressing their fronts snug together. Content with where they were he didn't do anything to escalate it farther but Bonnie had other plans, her skin burning up before she pushed him onto his bed lying flat on his chest. A rough sound escaped Kai against her mouth when she grinded over his boxers making him harder with each stroke and she shivered locking her knees around his thighs tighter. Drinking in her hunger his body reacted on instinct moving his palm over one of her cheeks and slid his fingers through her folds, heart racing at how wet she was for him.

"Well someone's happy to see me."

"Shut up," Bonnie rushed out with a hint of embarrassment and his laughter was strong enough to shake them both, ignoring her suggestion by pushing two fingers into her entrance intoxicated by what spills out of her mouth.

"But how can I when you're making all of these seductive noises on top of me? I have to vocalize my appreciation."

"I can think of other ways," she retorted staring at him as she lifted and arched her back deepening his hand and grunted when Bonnie reached inside his boxers tugging at his hard shaft. "See, much better."

Fighting to come up with a comeback as she pumped him a growl formed in Kai's chest traveling up his throat and out through clenched teeth; a dark haze passing through her dilated pupils and pulled up slowly to the tip. Leaning forward Bonnie reached back swatting his hand away and steered him to the same place with the other, the momentum of her slamming down without warning protruding noises of carnality out of him. Pushing off of his chest to sit up Kai's hands roamed across her torso cupping her breasts and she inclined into his touch using it as leverage to rock her hips faster over his.

Lying virtually still underneath her Bonnie had full control over him and their current state of bliss and he found it enthralling, raptured by the way she shamelessly rode him and dug her nails into his pecs every time their eyes locked. Kai found it physically impossible to look away from her and dropped his hands to rise onto his elbows with a perfect view of her face, down her body, into where she was rocking onto him. Falling forward Bonnie's left hand landed on the bed beside his arm and the other arm rested on his shoulder curling her fingers around the back of his head pulling at the roots. Sliding her cheek against his forehead her moans grew harsher and more fevered the harder she pressed her knees into the mattress until she was panting making him disoriented.

" _Touch me,_ " rang through Kai's eardrums and leaned back examining her ravenous expression, pulling her bottom lip between his with his teeth and leaned on one elbow bringing his hand around to trail down her spine.

Gliding his middle finger between her cheeks he rubbed back and forth lubricating the spot and gently eased in his nail stopping when he reached the second knuckle and felt Bonnie's limbs give out sagging into him. That one unspoken declaration of trusting him enough to give herself over to him without fear had Kai's pulse beating like a jackhammer in his throat and closed his eyes seeing the room spinning around them. Certain that if he thrusted upward he'll come undone on the spot he fell backwards taking Bonnie with him and massaged her with his finger while she rolled her hips heightening their connection.

On one of the retreats back he added his ring finger into the already snug space and his body shook at the untamed cry of gratification bellowed out against his cheek. Listening to her whimpers of unintelligible words Kai cursed through a gruff exhale and used his palm to continue her steady movements cupping the side of her neck with the other to hoist her forehead on top of his. Gazing between one groggy eye to the other his brows drew in wanting to ask if she was okay and the worry dwindled when Bonnie just barely formed a nod answering his unspoken question, sweeping his lips over her face and easing her onto him.

Heaving upward a spark of heat shot up Kai's spine and took her breathless sigh as a good sign gripping her tighter to hold her in place and lunged into her, their salacious sounds drowned out by the blood roaring in his ears as every ounce of energy drained from his body. Trembling with aftershocks Bonnie's forehead dropped to his shoulder scratching restlessly against his skin and he slowly withdrew his fingers gripping under her cheek to rock her leisurely into him shuddering at the sensitive friction.

"Can I ask you something personal but fitting given our current bedroom position?" Kai requested and she hummed out affirmatively. "Would you ever want to do that without my fingers; say with toys, or…"

Rearing her head back Bonnie's temple whacked the side of his nose and groaned reaching up with his other hand. "Shit, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry it was just a question," he chuckled and held her thigh to him when she tried swinging her leg over, "and I didn't mean this second."

"That's just – and you're – and I've never even-" she stumbled through broken fragments of sentences bringing forth his endearing smile watching her freak out and Bonnie inhaled a gust of air blowing it out extra slowly with her hand held out in front of her. "No way."

"Are you positive, I mean what were the probability odds of getting as far as we are now? It's something you're just starting to experience – it's new for me too, and you do seem to _like it_ …"

"And what about you?"

"I like it too much, hence why I want more," Kai grinned and she squirmed on top of him feeling her knees lock and clenched up around him. Franticness crossed her features and started pushing away from him, reaching to grab her neck bringing her back down to him and rolled planting her on her back. " _Okay_ , okay, forget I said anything I'm happy with whatever you're comfortable with."

The frenzied look stayed glued to Bonnie's face and a low sound rumbled in the back of his throat nuzzling underneath her jaw and tickling lightly down her ribs. Kissing up and over her cheek his lips caressed hers and smiled hearing the soft moan escape from her. Kai's hand found hers and laced them pressing their palms together into the pillow she was lying on and wanted to stay engulfed in each other, not eager to fill her in on his morning routine.

"What?" Bonnie asked and he blinked out of the daze, not realizing he had stopped kissing her and was now just staring at her.

"I have to tell you something."

" _What?_ " she uttered more skeptically and Kai moved back to pull out, not wanting to be in the middle of this intimate act when his dad's face filled his mind.

"I was going to tell you before but then you know you jumped me and everything and I didn't really get the chance," he teased and touched her cheek with his index finger from their clasped hands, "I saw my dad this morning."

"You – how… _when?"_

"7AM, roughly, give or take ten minutes. I couldn't sleep and figured now was as good of a time as any to find out where he was hiding – which is embarrassing on my part that it took me until now seeing how he's staying _on the next street over._ Yeah, I was pretty pissed when I turned down the street I could throw a football to and there he is just shooting the breeze."

"How did you know where he was?"

"Josette was surprisingly helpful; she even came to the house with me."

"And how did it go, what happened?"

"I put forth my best efforts in making him believe there's no need for him to keep the binding spell on you. I told him if he lifted it he'd have my word I wouldn't go after him."

"Really?" Bonnie asked in a tone that sounded genuinely surprised, looking over her face and lowering his brows.

"Yeah."

"I mean that's a big statement to make, after everything that's happened between you two – what he's done… are you sure?" Peering into his eyes Kai's chest panged seeing the concern and distress etched across her features somehow knowing she was playing through his memories she had seen a first-hand glimpse into, gentle fingers touching the scar on his back proving his theory correct. "I don't want you to make an impulsive decision now and then later-"

"Regret it?" he finished her train of thought and snorted with a shake of his head. "I would never regret being your knight in shining armor, Bon, don't be silly."

"Well when you put it like that," she shrugged and he shifted his expression to a solemn one, signifying his seriousness in the topic.

"I'm sure I want to keep you safe; you're more important to me than avenging some decades-old grudge."

Kai wasn't positive if the statement was true until he admitted it to Bonnie and now he was certain, his ribcage expanding from its tight squeeze the instant he saw her bright smile and it made her skin appear like it was physically glowing.

"Well what did he say to your proposal?"

"That he would think about it," he remarked leaving out significant details like the love question or remark about them not deeming fit together; an accusation he called bullshit on since it's some mumbo-jumbo his ancestors made up and both have proven they can handle more than the average person – especially together. "So it didn't go exactly how I wanted – walking out of there with the bounty off of your head – but at least it's a step in that direction."

Scratching at his facial hair Bonnie pressed her soft lips to his and he exhaled shakily through his nose feeling the tenderness in the kiss. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, I still have to see if it worked."

"You're a master of persuasion, I'm sure you'll come up with something."

"If striking a deal doesn't work I guess I'll just have to do a better job at convincing him," Kai said offhandedly but his mind reverted back to the previous conversation as he stared at Bonnie's hopeful gaze, making his third verbal commitment in the span of a few hours. "I'll figure it out, I promise."

"I believe you," she whispered and he bent forward nibbling at her jaw and down her neck, tongues gliding over skin before becoming entangled in one another; Joshua's question echoing back at him as pushed through turning all of his attention on the girl that's changing him into a better version of himself.


	34. Chapter 34

"You know avoiding me is a pretty childish thing to do," Bonnie hollered at the figure on the other end of the food aisle, turning to lock eyes with hers.

"Oh Bon-Bon, you know my style is more ' _up close and personal_ ' than lurking in the shadows."

"Is that where you've been hiding since New Year's, then?" she pressed crossing the short distance to him that the two of them walked countless times during their grocery shopping trips in 1994. "I was almost starting to forget what you looked like."

"You could never forget a face like this," Damon goaded doing his trademark flirty squinted smolder eye thing, "besides I figured you were too busy fawning all over the stray sociopath you picked up on the way home."

"So then I was right, you _are_ still mad."

"Mad is such a bland word, I'm thinking more creative things like mystified, or nauseated, or even good old fashioned horrified would do," he smirked turning the corner swiping a bottle of bourbon off the shelf.

"Damon-"

"I'm curious," he went on as if Bonnie hadn't spoken looking her over, "when did it happen? I mean not when I was there – obviously, since the last thing I remember was watching you kill Kai with a follow up of him being resurrected to shoot you with an arrow. But how long did it take before you jumped into bed with him; was it right after I left or was there a brief period of loneliness first?"

Heat simmered up her neck flaring behind her eyes at the accusation and quickly scanned their empty surroundings, pivoting to cut him off.

" _You_ were the one that was having an existential crisis every other day from being trapped in that Hell and you had me there with you the entire time – I didn't have that same luxury. After you left I was essentially completely alone; no one to talk to, or pass the time with, or remind me I wasn't going crazy when I would wake up screaming from nightmares. I had no intention of letting Kai back into this world and I couldn't work around him so for all I knew I was going to live out the rest of my short life in solitary when the absolute unexpected happened – _he helped me._ I wasn't eating, sleeping, or talking anymore and had basically surrendered and… given up, but Kai wouldn't let me. He cooked all the meals and followed me around the house incessantly yammering away until I was blessed with the sweet relief of unconsciousness. I didn't ask to be stuck in an alternate universe with Kai Parker riding shotgun, I didn't _want it_ , but that's the hand I got dealt as opposed to dying _permanently_ this time."

"That doesn't mean you develop Stockholm syndrome for the enemy."

"Kai's not my enemy."

"Bonnie, he-"

"Don't; I know what you're going to say and it's nothing I haven't argued with myself a hundred times over already. I know all about his past and what happened because of it since I am the only one that's heard it from the horse's mouth. You on the other hand were getting information fed to you by the guy who hates him more than anyone; I'd say you were hearing a pretty biased version of the truth."

"I also had plenty of time with the little weasel before my early departure," Damon added throwing a twenty down on the counter and striding out the front door without grabbing his change. "I remember he had this funny quirk where he couldn't feel anything real on the emotional spectrum."

"Kai's not like that anymore," Bonnie rebutted following him over to the convertible resting her palm on top of the door as the other waved over his image across the car, "now he's better at expressing himself than people who have had over a hundred years' experience."

"That's funny, maybe if I was invited into your house boy wonder could teach me how to properly fool you into believing that I'm harmless too. It's taken me over six years to get where we are now so he's got to be pretty persuasive." Sliding into the driver's seat she followed Damon's lead and looked over to his bewildered expression. "How did you get here?"

"Kai dropped me off."

"Awh, didn't want to stick around to reminisce?"

"Oh he did, I had other plans in mind."

"Which is what, convincing me he's turned from an evil caterpillar into a less-sociopathic butterfly?" He inquired sticking the key in the ignition and backing out of the parking spot.

"All you'd need to do is talk to him for ten minutes to know that's true, but I'm not here to talk you into thinking anything – I'm here to tell you that this is how it's going to be and to deal with it. Out of everyone I thought that you, the ' _bad Salvatore brother'_ could relate to someone who's perceived as a cold-blooded monster to outsiders and can't escape from the things that they've done. That you would see where _I_ am coming from since you had your own fixation that gave you the benefit of the doubt when you didn't deserve it and never gave up on you. You put Elena in danger, broke her heart, and still redeemed yourself in her eyes to want to spend an eternity with you because she didn't listen to anyone but herself and got to know the man behind the mask. It's sad to say but you and Kai aren't that different and Elena and I are almost one of the same, against everything we see the best in people."

"And you both have a precarious taste in men. I mean little innocent Jeremy to Kai? Way to pull a 180."

"Yeah it wasn't really planned – neither was, for that matter, but they did manage to surprise me in their own ways and make me genuinely care about them. After the merge Kai made me feel more justified in my feelings for him since I started to see that he could _actually_ reciprocate them back but that's not when I started liking him, I grew fond of the guy he was before we were out of the prison world."

"Ugh, Bonster…"

" _No_ you don't get to judge me on how I chose to survive the place that I got _you_ out of. I put your safety above my own and because of it I was forced to get to know my cellmate and have a firsthand look into how twisted his family and coven are and the kind of world he grew up in. I battled against every moral thought that I used to tell Elena when she would go back and forth between defending you and trying to assure me she wouldn't fall for you. I contemplated letting Kai rot in there forever – a misunderstood witch, just like me – because being branded the villain makes it acceptable to act without benevolence towards them until I realized I didn't want to be that person anymore. Blindly following the code of conduct without questioning the so called ' _necessary casualties'_ along the way, or being the one that has to make all of the tough decisions that have terrible repercussions thrown back at me. I decided to choose what I believed was right instead of what I thought I was supposed to do and ended up in a cave with a guy with a shiny new outlook and ready to face whatever was waiting for me on the other side."

Damon was silent as he pulled up to a red light, keeping his eyes trained on the road as he flexed his clenched fists around the steering wheel. The light changed and instead of taking a right towards Gram's he continued straight and blew out an overdrawn breath.

"I still don't like him," he grumbled making the corner of Bonnie's lip curve.

"I'm fine with that, I didn't like you when you and Elena started dating either," she retorted earning a side glare and smiled wide. "But I don't want you giving me a hard time over him every time I see you. I know it puts that extra pep in your step but you owe me for not putting a spell on you to take off your daylight ring in the middle of the day for the whole first few years of knowing you – trust me, I was tempted more than my fair share."

"And this whole time I thought your witchy vibes meant that we shared some sort of special bond."

"Oh I definitely felt something _strong_ towards you, that's for sure," Bonnie chuckled, "it took a while but I think it's finally starting to turn positive. Congrats, all it took was us going to Hell and back."

"Not just putting each other through Hell, I see where we got confused," Damon joked and pulled up in front of the Boarding house turning off the engine. "Fine, for your sake I will give the wicked twin the benefit of the doubt but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be keeping a close eye on him. You may not agree with Papa Parker and his unconventional ways but he has a way of making you see his reasoning on things."

"Not a chance," she brushed off and gave him a pointed stare, "and you shouldn't either Mr. _Daddy Issues_ ; following orders from a cynical egomaniac doesn't seem to bode well with you."

"Oh how I've missed our sweet talks Bon-Bon, you always were the conversationalist," he winked and Bonnie turned her head laughing thinking back over the variety of colorful interactions they had during their four months alone together. Stepping out of the car Damon swung around her side the same time she shut her door and leaned his hip above the tire. "Why don't we make up for lost time in the modern-day version of our vacation to a contemporary ' _limbo_ ' _;_ I'll cook you your favorite treat."

"No pancakes!" she huffed but the overweening grin of a response before sauntering away ensured her that she was going to be making her own meal and dragged her feet after him, back into the place that's become an eerie _home-like_ building to her.

xx

By the time Bonnie made it home it was almost 7PM and her stomach was rumbling from picking at things at the Boarding house throughout the day but the lack of food in the house left her with a slim variety. Assuming Kai would be up for going out to dinner since he is always hungry she didn't bother texting him before heading home, regretting her decision immediately when she walked through the front door and caught him falling asleep in the recliner in black sweatpants, a white wife beater and an open black zip-up. Moving into the living room Bonnie smiled sadly at his slumped posture and head lulled forward resting his chin on his chest, brushing her fingers up the side of his arm before crawling into his lap stirring him from his slumber.

"I'm awake," Kai rasped sliding his hands around her back to cage her in.

"You look it," Bonnie agreed surveying his closed eyes and cuddled into the side of his neck, lifting his head to lean into her.

"I didn't sleep much."

"How come?"

"A lot on my mind – even more now," he remarked and cleared his throat. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven." Popping his lids open Kai's bloodshot eyes connected with hers and her eyebrows drew in at the exhaustion reflected back at her. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," he grinned kissing the tip of her nose, "especially since I sat down for a minute and here I am two hours later. How did things go with _Mr. Charming_?"

"Better than expected, actually," Bonnie admitted pushing her hands under his sweatshirt and around his ribs, "I really do have a way with words."

"Intimidation and confidence will get you places, no doubt," Kai nodded and smirked when she shot him a side-glance. "You forget that I watched how you two interact for months before you met me."

"Yeah I try to block out the fact that you were a creepy _'peeping Tom'_ before I even knew who you were."

"I prefer the term ' _stalker_ ' if we're going to be throwing out labels, that's a personal favorite of mine," he leered gripping her flesh.

"You mean someone who watches another from afar, studying them?"

"Mhm."

"Wanting to get closer?"

"Mhmmm."

"Until the fantasy isn't enough and kidnaps them for themselves?" Bonnie inquired feeling her cheeks flush at his wolfish grin, pulling in her bottom lip slowly and biting down. "So what are you going to do now that you have me so close?"

"Keep you," Kai replied simply, the resolve in his voice making her fingers and toes curl up and tingle surveying his honest expression through his tired state.

"And what if that's not what I want?"

"Then that sucks for you," he let out with a wholehearted laugh, "I warned you in the prison world if you let me have you then _you're mine_ and then you went and got me hooked. So really that's on you."

"Me?" Bonnie snorted, "You were the one that was making it impossible to stay away."

"That's because I can't physically leave you alone," Kai gleamed fluttering his eyes closed, "I'm funny like that."

"And possessive," she shrugged igniting his smile wider and squeezed her thigh.

"You know me better than you think," he murmured and Bonnie opened her mouth to speak – stomach roaring in place of her voice instead and felt his body vibrate with amusement cracking his lids to a sliver of dark blue examining her.

"I know Damon isn't technically _'a human being'_ but he does know it's still proper etiquette to feed you, right?"

"I would have died from starvation if he hadn't been flipping those stupid pancakes every morning in 1994; a person can only survive on snacks for so long."

"That baffles me," Kai remarked with a slow shake of his head, "well at least you know you'll never go hungry when I'm around."

"I know, why else do you think I'm okay with you staying here?" Bonnie said in a mock-serious tone.

"I'm also pretty decent at spooning," he thought out loud tilting his head to the side, "and I'd kill the spiders if there were any in this house."

"That does make up the trifecta," she agreed and he lifted his hand to rub vigorously at his eye socket blinking rapidly in an attempt to wake up more.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I was going to see if you wanted to go out but I can just make something here."

"We can go out."

"I'm pretty sure you'd pass out before the appetizers arrived," Bonnie deduced scratching her nails across his jaw.

"Then let's order something. Actually I wanted to ask you something earlier but I'm still not used to the whole ' _wireless phone at your disposal'_ thing so I just figured I'd wait. What would you say to spending the night in my dorm?"

"Your room at Whitmore?" she reiterated cocking her head. "Why?"

"I don't know, I was only in it long enough to zap some furniture in there and thought when better than now to break it in."

"Oh really?" Bonnie inquired arching a brow and he sniggered.

"You have a filthy mind – I meant breaking in the unused _room_ that is now in my possession, not the bed. But hey if you want to just skip past all the semantics…"

"No, no, that's okay. Yeah, we can go check out your dorm room since you're a college student now," she pointed out letting out a small wiggle of content that helping Kai get out of the prison world was opening up new opportunities to him that didn't involve vengeance and chaos. "Only thing is Elena texted me when I was at Damon's and wanted to hang out later."

"Invite her along," he said lifted his shoulder noncommittally.

"Really?"

"Sure, you can even invite the friend I like if you really want to," he suggested and ' _oofed'_ out a laugh from her slapping his abs, "or not, that's cool."

"I want you to like Elena too."

"That would entail her having to like _me_ , but I don't dislike her I just… don't think she's anything special. I guess I'm a little biased from hearing Damon whine about a girl I never met and in turn didn't want to because of it, I'm sure the same thing happened to her when she caught wind of my colorful backstory."

Bonnie began opening her mouth to rebuttal but his logic and intuition wasn't that farfetched, thinking back to the hatred that flashed through her features when she saw Kai for the first time in the hospital without even knowing him. Elena had promised to give him the benefit of the doubt for Bonnie's sake and has held her tongue during many conversations between the three girls but she hasn't actually spent much time around him since New Year's Eve.

"Okay I'll text her and see if she's up for it."

"I'll call somewhere for food; pizza?"

"Sure, cheese works for me. And Ranch dressing on the side."

"A woman after my heart," Kai hummed appreciatively, "it took me a few years but I finally convinced Ash to try a slice dipped in Ranch and I don't think she ever went back."

"It would be hard to," she pepped pushing herself off of his lap awkwardly, "I'm just going to pack a couple of things before we go, should be five minutes."

"Like what?"

"Pajamas?" Bonnie stated more like a question catching sight of his devilish grin.

"You won't need them."

"Tell me that again when your eyes are open," she jested sauntering out of the room before he could respond and grabbed a change of clothes and the basic necessities, letting Elena know they would be were checking out his dorm if she wanted to come.

Walking back down the hall Kai had slid on his boots and the same black slouchy beanie that he wore on Christmas, the memories leaving a scorch across her outer skin and bee-lined it for the front door avoiding his penetrating stare.

"Food should be ready in twenty; I called a place near the campus so we should get there around then," he commented and followed her outside, fumbling with the radio and blaring it in hopes of stirring Kai up more.

They had managed to make it to the dorm with two large pizzas in under a half an hour, not being able to wait and devouring a slice in the car the second the box was placed in Bonnie's lap. Elena came down a walkway leading away from one of the buildings and followed the path to where they stood, leaning in to squeeze her best friend in an embrace. Following Kai he lead the girls through the building until they reached his door and swung it open flicking on the lights, lifting his hand out in a grand gesture for them to go first.

The single bedroom looked bigger than the average dorm; the first thing that stood out being the wall to her immediate left was lined with a mini fridge, countertop with a sink and cabinets overhead signifying the room came stocked with a small and efficient kitchen. Staring straight Bonnie looked past the loveseat couch on the side wall with a hat rack hanging overhead and tilted her head seeing a hammock hung up near the right-hand corner next to a long horizontal window going across the opposing wall, a desk topped with a laptop, books, lamp, and swivel chair sitting in front of it.

Taking a few steps in to look left over the rounded kitchen a Queen-size mattress sat tucked in the corner with a red, black, and grey plaid comforter with deep red pillowcases and sheets hidden underneath. A big plush recliner was in the other corner with a bedside table in between, the fan overhead spinning steadily. The beige walls were bare aside from a full length mirror between the recliner and window making it seem like no one really lived here and his extreme OCD having nothing out of place drove it home. Elena moved around her checking what books he had and Kai put the pizza boxed on the counter reaching overhead to grab plates and cups.

"Nice set up," Bonnie commented looking around at the room he'd stay in when he wasn't at Gram's, an uncomfortable twist tightening her core.

"Why thank you, gives off the right illusion I supposed. What would you ladies like to drink; something innocent like water and soda, or something a little more thrilling?"

"Already bringing liquor on school grounds," Elena remarked approvingly, "you waste no time."

"They gave me a fridge, what else did they expect me to use it for?" Pulling at the handle she surveyed the case of water and cans of soda tucked inside, the bottles of liquor appearing out of thin air on the bottom shelf when Kai waved his palm in front of it. "So what'll it be?"

"A Jack and Coke sounds pretty good after today," her friend vocalized striding over to the counter grabbing a couple of slices and putting them on a plate swiping a container of dressing beside the box.

"You got it; Bon?"

"Sure, thank you." Nodding and turning back Kai snatched the bottle of Jack Daniel's and two cans of Coca Cola, pouring one of them into two glasses mixing it with the rum and cracking the other for himself. "You aren't drinking?"

"Not if I want to stay awake through dinner," he reasoned handing off the glasses to them and tossing a few pieces of pizza on plates for the both of them.

"Bonnie keeping you up all night?" Elena pepped plopping on a side of his bed up near the pillows.

"Yep," Kai confirmed chuckling at Bonnie's exclamatory reaction and lied across the end of the bed leaning up on an elbow digging into his food.

"How can you eat lying down?"

"Quite similar to sitting up, or standing for that matter; it's the drinking part that gets tricky," he demonstrated by taking a sip extra slowly.

"Ah, laziness in its true form, and that's without your powers." Bonnie summed up sitting with Elena to her right and ran her fingers across the pillowcase down to the sheet, "are these silk?"

"You bet'cha, don't they feel amazing? Wait until you cozy up under the covers, just make it a waterbed and it's the 90s in its true form. Oh and you don't want to get me started on how much easier life is now that there's magic in my world, it should be illegal it's so good."

"Pretty sure if any mere mortal knew about magic, it would be," Elena added and he moved his head from side to side weighing out what she said.

"That's a good point, _and_ makes me feel like more of a badass sorcerer. What I would like to know is how Mystic Falls isn't aware of the overpopulation of non-humanly vampires invading their humble little town."

"Because all of the important town's people probably are too, and the others are compelled to look the other way when havoc starts breaking out."

"So there's a method behind the bloodsucker's madness after all, huh. You know you and your friends are the first vamps I've met and not what I expected after hearing all of those warning and stories within the coven."

Bonnie's ears perked at the unknown information and watched as him and her friend locked eyes, Elena breaking the silence first. "Damon was the first vampire you met in person?"

"Got handed a winning choice there, didn't I? Here I was thinking when the day came I was going to come against Dracula; an older stoic man with pale skin and a long black robe, and instead I get a snarky 30-something year old in a leather jacket and jeans tighter than yours. You can imagine my disappointment. In my opinion people should just stick to their stereotypes and make it easy for everybody."

"Like a witch having a pointy hat and broom?" she shot back, his lip curving up slightly.

"Exactly, warlocks are a little more special though, we're usually in some crazy cool outfit with anything from a wand to a 7 foot staff in hand. I for one would be more than willing to rock that style."

"Yeah I can't really see me pulling off the _Elvira_ look."

"Sure you could, and if not Caroline could get away with it if she put on a wig," Kai snorted dunking his pizza in the cup of Ranch.

"Oh which reminds me she just called me when I was walking over and said Damon kidnapped Stefan for some ' _brotherly bonding_ ' with Ric so I told her I was coming here."

"She's already on her way, isn't she?"

"Said she ' _couldn't pass up seeing Kai's man-cave'_ , and then I told her there would be pizza and it was a done deal."

"The more the merrier," Kai chimed running his hand not holding him up over the comforter, an overly devious expression etched across his features, "plenty of room beside me."

"Creep," Bonnie remarked hiding her smile behind the glass when his face lit up at the insult, glancing over to Elena's screen showcasing a text from Caroline.

"Care's here, just letting her know which floor and room we're in," she stated and heard the door opening across the room within minutes.

"I can't believe you didn't invite me to _girl's night_ _with Kai_ ," Caroline scoffed walking in farther and peering left around the tiny kitchen area to where the bed was.

"Is it _technically_ a girl's night if Kai is here?" Bonnie wondered shifting her gaze to his wink.

"Yes that's why I specified _with_ him," she reasoned grabbing an extra plate to put a couple slices on and began pouring a mixed drink. "Food _and_ liquor, you should be a part of more of these."

"I'm usually an excellent conversationalist too."

"He's pretty worn out from our little witch keeping him up all night."

"That's not-" Bonnie rushed out feeling her face burn beet-red, speaking with enunciation. "That is not what happened. I recall a nice discussion before falling asleep _soundly_ for the rest of the night."

"Mhm," Elena murmured beside her.

"Sure thing," Caroline joined in giving her a lip-curved knowing expression that made her heart pound, her best friend having full detail of how long and agonizing this past week for her has been and that it had finally come to an end.

"You could help, you know," Bonnie vocalized tilting her head in Kai's direction and glared when he bit his crust his half with a grin so wide his eyes closed.

Standing on her side of the bed Care looked from the girls to Kai and back, seeming to guesstimate the space left on the bed for her until he spoke up. "Give me five minutes and I'll be able to sit up."

"No need," she smiled turning her attention on Bonnie, "I'll just take your spot."

"But Kai was the one with the ' _come-hither_ ' stare assuring that there was plenty more room for you."

"And he was right, now scoot; go saddle up beside your boyfriend," Caroline asserted and her eyes darted between her two best friends and Kai feeling dizzy that everyone was staring back intently, reading her reaction.

Since the talk where they became ' _official_ ' Bonnie hadn't heard the intimate names used out loud and therefore hadn't fully accepted them as true but hearing the term of endearment didn't twist her stomach with uncertainty like she had suspected, it was oddly comforting. Clenching down hard on her bottom lip she leaned up and turned plopping in front of Kai's thighs reclining against them with her legs straight out in front of his face, the way he moved to touch her clothed leg seeming like a reflex.

Looking left at his sleepy expression Bonnie smiled softly and took a moment to appreciate the effort he was making to hang out with her friends even though he'd rather be in REM someplace far from here. Resting her palm on her knee Kai's fingers slid over hers brushing them lightly and started up a conversation with Caroline, the tip of his finger tracing over the knots on her ring absentmindedly. Feeling heartened by her two friend's roar of hysterics over something Kai said that she didn't catch an exhale of relaxation protruded from Bonnie's core and grinned at the girl's in the middle of a fit, his thighs shaking behind her back letting her know they weren't the only ones.

"So have you two decided to go public yet?" Care wondered observing their connected hands. "And by ' _public_ ' I mean filling the magical clan in on your long and dirty nights together."

"Well that joke's never going to get old tonight," Bonnie scoffed hearing Kai snicker beside her, pausing the motion of his finger to turn his full attention towards her response. "I mean there's really no _need_ to and I'm not just going to say it to throw it out there."

"You don't want his coven knowing about you?" Elena asked giving her a confused expression shifting over to him squinting slightly. "Why?"

"Don't look at me," Kai said lifting his palms up in surrender peering back at Bonnie.

"I would just like to get to know the people that know everything about my bloodline a little bit and maybe have a conversation or two with them before I walk up and say ' _hi, I'm Bonnie and I'm dating your coven leader'_ – who, _ironically,_ they don't know much about."

"They can know he's taken," Care suggested lightly, finishing the last of her drink. "That's juicy information."

"It sure set off something fierce within our little circle of friends," Elena agreed filling her with dread and visibly deflated.

"Yeah but you all had the ' _friendship for life'_ bond already as well as a shaky perception of me."

"It's not that different flipped around," she reasoned, "they have their own opinions of her from knowing about the powerful Bennett's and they _are_ supernaturally connected to you."

"Bon's got nothing to worry about, it's all in her head," Kai stated picking up on the slight edge in his tone over a topic she knows he doesn't agree with.

"Then maybe there's more going on in her head than she lets on," Elena said with a rise of a shoulder, getting up and walking to the counter to grab another can of soda and the bottle of liquor when he pressed her on what she meant and Bonnie could feel her blood-pressure rising, stepping into a discussion she didn't want anyone to take part in. "I wasn't talking _specifics_ I was just saying…"

"Maybe she has doubts," Kai summed up, snapping her head in his direction with an icy glare.

"That's not why I don't want them to know - I do, I want one of them to be made aware so badly it'll blow her perfectly placed hair back. I just want to be smart, that's all."

Clenching his jaw Bonnie watched his pupils flick between her and Elena sitting diagonal from him looking like he was replaying both of their answers, her friend's comment apparently striking a nerve. Darting her line of view over to Caroline with a pleading expression she cleared her throat and swiped the bottle out of Elena's hands.

"You mean doubts like wanting your memories of Damon back?"

"What?" Bonnie sputtered giving her deer in headlights stare an equally bewildered expression. "You still want to be with Damon?"

" _No,_ nothing so drastic… I just – I've been hanging out with him more since New Year's since the both of you have been wrapped up in a guy and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about over him."

"And?"

"And…nothing, like I said we're just hanging out."

"But enough to want the memories back of being in love with him; why didn't you say anything?"

"I've only been thinking about it since the other day, it's not like it's some big hidden secret since the day Kai warped my brain."

"It was the equivalent to an acid-trip," he deduced, "and we both know I couldn't really erase _everything,_ isn't that right?"

"So you're saying you didn't get rid of all the good stuff?" Care asked looking from Kai to their friend waiting for someone to fill her in.

"That would have been pretty tough to erase his imprint completely, he's annoyingly hard to block out. And I wasn't exactly ' _leader worthy material'_ when I enacted the spell, I was working with borrowed magic."

"Can you reverse it?"

"Not quite, I could probably switch back some memories that I fabricated but the ones that were plucked from your subconscious went _poof_ into oblivion."

"You would switch them back?"

"I didn't say I would just that I could," Kai specified keeping his focus on Elena. "Nothing against you but Damon hasn't exactly _dazzled me_ since I've arrived so I don't think that really merits a reward. I don't know if my spell roofied our talk but you ended up in that predicament because your boy-toy drove his fist through my ribcage like he was straight out of _A Nightmare on Elm Street_. So if you think about it, he is just as much at fault as me."

"The gift of gab," Care chortled finishing the last of her slice, "able to spin a topic whatever way you like. I can spot it because I also have that quirk. So what kinds of good things do you remember about him if Kai didn't wipe them all?"

"I don't know, it's not even the memories, really, it's… this feeling. Something inside me that I can't shake and the more I try to ignore it the worse it gets until I'm overwhelmed with a sharp awareness of needing to be around him. But then when I am with him I remember all of the terrible things he's done and I want to get as far away as possible; I have no idea what's going on with me."

"You still love him – even with his many, many, _many_ flaws," Caroline drawled, "but Kai jumbled up your thoughts like an _etch-a-sketch_ so your brain's trying to play catch up when it doesn't know half of the information."

"Maybe you should give the Gemini's a chance," he suggested, "little Cooper seemed to have his eye on you."

"Cody is one attractive guy," she agreed nodding at Elena, "that whole coven, really… there's got to be some unwritten rule or they drank enchanted water as babies or something."

"Your little clique isn't necessarily filled with ugly ducklings either," he countered running his fingers up Bonnie's calf, "good-looking people tend to flock together."

"Are you adding yourself into that equation too?"

"No I'm not really a part of either's inner circle but I have my own special category in the looks department."

"Images may appear deceivingly overconfident up close," Bonnie played along with honesty, fare blue eyes connecting with hers as she recollected upon the times Kai dropped the façade of how much he loved himself and let her into a much darker and contrastive outlook he has about his sense of worth.

A brief flash cleared in his irises, lifting a corner of his mouth before Elena spoke pulling him out of it and drifted his gaze over to her. The next hour seemed to go by at a steady pace, the easy flow between the closest people to her heart alleviating yet another knot in her shaky system but could still feel a simmer of underlying tension from Kai by the way he was touching her without the gentleness from before. By the time 11PM rolled around Kai had progressed past his overtired goofy state into zombie mode to the point of his eyes being closed more than they were open signaling it was that time to wrap up the night.

"Thanks for having us over," Elena hollered heading towards the door.

"Now that you live in a building we can actually get into you should be expecting us around more."

"I'll have to buy a lock," Kai remarked cheekily from the mattress lifting his arm into the air and waving, hugging her friends goodbye before turning to clean up the cups, plates, and sticking the remaining pieces of pizza between two plastic plates in the mini fridge. "I can help."

"No need, it's all done," Bonnie reported flipping the switch to turn off the fan light overhead, the lamp still illuminating the room dimly.

Moving to the other side of the room she grabbed one of Kai's t-shirts she packed that was thrown over a chair and stripped out of her jeans, shirt, and bra, throwing his over her head before heading over to the bed. Examining him looking so worn-out Bonnie pulled back the covers humming at the soft silk gliding under her fingers and slipped inside, nudging his legs at the end of the bed with her foot until he stirred awake.

"Mmm."

"Come up here." Slowly dragging himself towards her Kai threw a knee over her thigh leaning down to place his palms on either side of her biceps, caging her in. "I meant _under_ the covers."

Pulling his lids open with effort the anxiousness that she felt steaming off of him after Elena's comment began to waft around his bulky frame knitting his brows together forming a deep line between them.

"Do you still have doubts about us – about me?"

"I knew you weren't going to be able to let what she said go."

"Well maybe she knows something I don't," he remarked, his grim and somber demeanor out of character, "you could be telling your friends more than you're telling me."

"Kai," she soothed trying to pull her arms out of the covers but couldn't get them around his forearms, "you said yourself you have a better understanding of what goes on in my head that even I'm consciously aware of. Elena doesn't know anything that I haven't already told you, she's just hesitant about you but she'll come around. "

"Then she's probably telling you things to sway your opinion," Kai challenged looking ridged all over, the corners of her lips turning down.

"Have you forgotten who she's in love with? When it comes down to it Elena always sees the best in people, but we're practically sisters; she's protective."

"She can say whatever she wants about me I don't care, it only matters if it effects the way you see or think about me."

"Does that go the same way for Care too?"

Looking over Bonnie's face as he hovered on top of her reflecting over the question there was something off in Kai's manner, the demanding and almost defensive tactic standing out significantly since wanting to tell her friends about them was _his_ idea.

"Yeah, I guess it does. I'm glad your friends know so you can share things with them and we don't have to sneak around but I want whatever decisions you make to be your own, not something someone else put in your head."

"You should know better than most that I'm too stubborn to let anyone have control over what I think," she pepped trying to lighten his mood, tugging at her arms again. "Let me get my hands free."

"No," Kai said briskly and cocked an eyebrow at him, "If I do you'll touch me and I won't be able to focus. Be honest, are you still unsure about me?"

"I broke you out of a prison world and began secretly hooking up that turned into telling my friends that we are now _dating_ ; pretty positive any uncertainty I had about you has faded away by now. What's going on with you tonight?"

"Nothing, what do you mean?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said sarcastically wiggling her confined arms, "but you seem on edge. Was seeing your dad worse than you let on?"

Kai's line of view darted away from hers for the first time since he rolled onto her and she squinted at the side of his profile. "It's just been awhile since I've seen him outside of my nightmares, forgot how easily he gets under my skin. The things he says, they… linger."

"Like what?" she pressed craning her neck in an attempt to get him to look back down to her. "What's on your mind?"

Counting to ten with no response Bonnie hugged her sides and wretched her arms out of its hold lifting them up like she was stretching and reached for his neck, hesitating so close she could feel the quick beat of his pulse through her fingertips. Sighing and hanging his head as he turned back Kai leaned into her touch and took it as an open invitation gliding her other hand through his hair on the back of his skull and pulling off the beanie, drawing him in closer.

"You," he uttered in a low tone, a small smile appearing attached with a hooded gaze, "always you."

"Did he say something about me?"

"He said plenty, but I was just answering your question of what I'm thinking about."

"So what are you thinking _about_ me?" Bonnie specified with a rue grin licking her lips.

"Probably not the same thing as you," he observed staring down, "at least until this moment."

Before she could steer them back to the right topic Kai lifted her head off the pillow rolling his tongue into her open mouth provoking a breathy gasp in response, coiling into him instinctively. Unable to move her legs Bonnie's forearms gripped him tight until his chest was flat against hers and sighed feeling his hands slide over her shoulder-blades keeping her secure to him.

Pouring reassurances into the kiss in an attempt to ease his mind Kai's posture eventually cracked and unwound letting out a shaky breath through his nose that made her toes curl, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. Continuing their lazy and unhurried moment together Bonnie noticed his movements getting slower showing his burst of energy drained out of him with the tension and pulled back resting her forehead on his.

"You should change before you pass out on top of me."

"There are worse ways to fall asleep," Kai murmured rubbing his nose against hers and breathed out a laugh when she decided to help him out of his sweatshirt leaning up to push it down his biceps.

Gripping the wife beater behind him he pulled it over his head and flopped to the side sleepily trying to get himself out of the sweatpants and under the covers at the same time, smiling as he struggled to get comfortable. Reaching blindly Bonnie was tugged and collided with a firm chest suctioning the rest of her front side to his, entangling their limbs. Running her thumb over Kai's pendant her thoughts drifted to hearing that Jo went with him to their father's house, for all intents and purposes appearing on his side against the men's age-old family battle.

Bonnie didn't ask but she wondered how he ended up convincing his twin to give up the ex-leader's location and if she believed him when he said he wouldn't pursue the vendetta that got him locked away in an alternate dimension so many years ago. And if Jo did believe him, then why – because she was having a hard time wrapping her head around that statement herself and she's been around this new version of Kai Parker more than anyone.

Blinking out of the daydream Bonnie glanced up and heard her breath catch at the dark orbs peering back at her, the look she couldn't decipher earlier etched across his features again making her squirm. Instead of pushing away she burrowed in deeper digging her face into the crook of his neck, raking her nails across his back gently drawing designs. Kai's pulse felt too quick for his relaxed state and left soft kisses against the column of his throat to lessen in, drifting off seeing piercing blue irises staring into her and plucking a part of her Bonnie thought she had locked up tight – far away from any potential threats.


	35. Chapter 35

"What about this one?" Elena asked holding up a neon orange bikini.

"Hideous," Caroline said over her shoulder, taking in her expression. "Well did you mean for one of us, or for you?"

"For me."

"Okay, then hideous," she confirmed with a nod of her head wiggling a black and blue bikini top and bottoms, "this looks more your style."

"Hmm," Elena hummed snatching the hanger from her hands, "I'll try it on. What about you two?"

"It's a lost cause," Bonnie huffed tossing the bottoms back on the rack. "Nothing looks good on me."

"That's because you're not trying on the right ones," Care beamed handing off half a dozen choices, "now _those_ will make the boys heads turn."

"Yeah, just what I'm aiming for," she uttered sarcastically examining them all and pausing on the last one. "I don't even think I can squeeze into this."

"Only one way to find out," Elena sing-songed retreating to the dressing rooms with her two friends in tow.

Skipping past the skimpy, laced, and almost see-through options Bonnie ended up with two to try on; one green and one white. The white one was a one-piece suit that was cut low to her abdomen with cut outs over her hips showing a lot more skin than she had expected, the outfit both revealing and more conservative.

"Okay, round one," her friend hollered and heard two clicks of their doors opening, following behind. "Somehow I just _knew_ that was going to be your first pick."

"I like it," Bonnie said defensively, gliding over to the mirror to check her backside.

"I love it," Elena agreed, "you look so good in white."

Catching her reflection in the mirror Elena had tried on the one Care suggested, the thick strung bikini a shade of cornflower blue with black accents near the inside of her chest and the straps around her hips. "You both look great too."

"I have excellent taste, I know," Caroline remarked confidently strutting over in a red ruffled string bikini with two buttons in the middle of her chest and silver ringlets rested on her hipbones.

"Yeah this one might be my favorite since the rest looked a little too ' _erotic dancer'_ for me. I think I'll get it."

"But there was a black leather one that I really wanted to see how it looked on; did that not make the cut either?"

"You mean the one that was more straps than bathing suit?"

"It hides all of the important parts; just try it on."

Getting shooed into the room by the both of them Bonnie trudged back and tried on the much more provocative option. The top was designed like a crop top cutting all the way around her back and front, dipping lower between her cleavage with four skinny bands going over her shoulders and down her breasts. The bottoms had made her wary on the hanger and now that she was wearing them a deep flush bloomed under her cheeks spreading down her neck at the thought of wearing this out in public. There was a cut-out diamond leather patch that covered her front and the back rode up higher showing off the curves of her butt but the rest was attached by four leather straps crisscrossing in the middle showing off her skin all the way around.

Staring at her reflection Bonnie could imagine Kai's carnal reaction that made her skin itch with hunger until it dawned on her he wouldn't be giving her his full-on _Kai Parker appreciation_ because as per her request, he wasn't allowed to. Since they spent the night at his dorm last week the two of them have been spending more time around the Gemini circle forcing Bonnie to interact with the people who hold a special fondness for their all-powerful coven leader – some more than others. AnnaLynne had succeeded in proving her suspicions correct; the closeness, flirty come-ons and habit of needing the ' _leader's input'_ on a Gemini-related issue obvious to apparently everybody _but_ Kai, who swore up and down it was just because of how close he was with Ashley growing up which is why she seemed to feel a familiarity with him.

What he failed to notice was the non-familial vibes she was sending his way that said AnnaLynne was not interested in following in her sisters footsteps on the brother-sister friendship they developed, regardless of Kai not reciprocating anything back towards her. Bonnie didn't like to think of herself as an insecure person – she was extremely confident in her abilities as a witch and protector against any monster thrown at her – but this is a topic that hits too close to her heart to taken lightly. At least for AnnaLynne's benefit she doesn't _know_ Kai is currently seeing someone and can be the first one to admit that the man is disgustingly charming and intriguing to be around, even when he isn't trying to be.

So now Bonnie found herself here, bathing suit shopping on one of the rare 70 degree weather January days for one of Whitmore's lake parties at the edge of the town with every member of her inner circle and the Gemini's present. She wasn't able to attend last year's event on account of being trapped inside a prison world fearing that she would never escape _Groundhog Day_ and was having a hard time accepting how far she's come since then – both in her personal and intimate life alongside the person Bonnie had once considered her rival.

Caroline's face was visible the instant Bonnie opened the changing room door and had to abruptly stop herself from not barreling into her, her smile so wide her mouth opened with it. "That's the one!"

"Care-"

"Oh that's the one," she repeated, stepping out of the way for Elena to get a better look at her who mimicked the same excited expression.

"I loved the other one but this one's even better. Bon you look amazing, I could never pull that off so I have to live vicariously through you today."

"We're going to a college party at the lake, don't you think this is overdoing it?"

"No."

"Absolutely not," the girls stated at the same time grinning at her, "so then it's settled, I think we all picked a winner."

"But-" Bonnie rebutted turning towards them when she caught the side of her reflection, the revealing black straps cutting across her hips showing off the arch of her back and making her butt look bigger. Trailing up the leather hugged her snug pushing her chest up and stayed securely in place, knowing she'll be able to move around and participate in activities without the thought of losing her top hanging in the back of her mind.

"But nothing, you're getting it."

"And Kai's going to lose it," Care snickered checking her out.

"Pretty sure you'll rile up Michael too," her other friend added reminding Bonnie of his flirtatious ways and Kai's obvious irritation over it.

"I think you're both giving me too much credit."

"More like you're not giving yourself enough. So now that we have our bikini's let's move onto the rompers and shawls," Elena finalized and both girls headed for the dressing room, biting the inside of her cheek as she followed behind.

Taking one last long examination of herself in the triple mirrors she changed back into her clothes taking both options out with her, heading for the next department with her friends in tow. After another fifteen minutes Bonnie had chosen a white romper cover up with a deep V neckline, a sleeveless bodice, elastic scrunch waistband, two small front pockets, and ruffled hem shorts hanging just below butt. The see-through lace was etched with feathers and strings connecting them, perfect for either a white one-piece blending in or catching the contrast against the black leather underneath.

Caroline had picked a red, pink, and white tie-dye cardigan cover up and Elena went with a turquoise fishnet shawl tied around her hips, all three satisfied with their options as they made their way to the registers still holding both bathing suits in hand. By the time they had reached the cashier Bonnie's mind had swayed back and forth a dozen times over which she should choose, lost in thought until Elena snatched the black one out of her hands sticking it in with her stuff.

"This too."

"I was still debating," she argued holding up the other one.

"I made it easy and decided for you. Talk to me at the end of the day and tell me if you still wish you got the white one," she remarked sliding her card and looking over with a satisfactory grin, grabbing her shopping bag while Bonnie paid for the romper and pair of flip-flops.

Heading out of the store the three went back to the dorm and spent the next hour getting ready; her hair down in curls and by her friends doing went for the edgy style to match the leather bikini with deep plum lipstick, defined wings, mascara, and a dash of light to dark purple eyeshadow. The overall look of her gave off a confident and sexy statement that Bonnie wasn't necessarily feeling either of but the ' _costume'_ did help her feel the part.

A whistle over her shoulder made her jump before Caroline stepped up looking over the final product with the white lace romper and black flip-flops on. "It's unbelievable that you can look good in anything, and this badass sex-bomb style is definitely going to turn some heads. So is Kai going to meet us there since he's already with his coven or coming here?"

"I told him it'd be easier to meet him there so he wasn't waiting on me and he's sent me three sporadic texts telling us to hurry up."

"Is he already there?"

"Yeah… he got there five minutes ago," Bonnie stated rolling her eyes back hearing both girls crack up behind her.

Packing up the essentials the three headed out to Gram's car driving to the lake on the edge of the town, her jaw hitting the ground when they walked into the woods walking towards the water.

"Okay last year wasn't like this – _at all._ "

" _Not even close_ , this is – "Caroline paused, checking their surroundings with a gleeful grin, " _amazing!_ "

Gaping at everything around them Bonnie's line of view shifted left to a rope net ready to be climbed, tires lined out, and balance beams putting together it was the middle of an obstacle course and continued on noting the reasonably sized mud pit and a long wired area to crawl underneath. The loud splashes and hollers drew her attention to the opposite direction and laughed out an astonished sound – the entire shoreline was covered with large wooden platforms. There were specific ones you can leap off of, race down long slides, jump off using a rope swing, and zip-line all the way down to the bottom as well as tree ladders for people to hang from the low branches over the water to wall into.

Spread about the lake were various floating docks kids were lounging on as well as sturdy wooden docks that were already there and her head snapped left to a girl screaming as she flew fifteen feet into the air being launched from a giant inflatable red, yellow, and blue rectangular blob with someone jumping to land on it from the other side catapulting her into the lake. Watching the guy roll off the side into the water and shake his shaggy blonde hair Bonnie scanned to the redheaded girl in recognition and surveyed the surroundings, a group of college kids waiting along the shoreline cheering them on.

Gritting her teeth Bonnie's eyes immediately went to the towering model looking so petite there wasn't an ounce of fat or curve on her body, her long curly hair flowing in the wind down her back. The yellow bikini was strapless and tied like a bandana around her back while the bottoms were connected by colorful strings and cut short letting half of her cheeks hang out. The guy to her left didn't need to be standing next to her for Bonnie to know it was Kai; the only one of the guys still wearing a grey wife beater with defined muscles protruding out of the tight material. His black swim trunks hung to his knees and had to get closer to see the green, yellow, and red lines looking like electricity or neurons firing off covering them from top to bottom and his right leg was covered in onyx stars, admittedly loving the design on them.

Nearing the Gemini's Kai must have sensed her coming and turned sharply, his face lighting up in a contagious way when his eyes connected with hers. Stepping away from the group he made a few strides closer when his line of view glanced down and froze in his tracks, watching as they dipped lower raking in her outfit consisting of the white laced _more-or-less_ see-through romper and black leather bikini peeking out underneath. By the time Bonnie reached him he was just starting to trail back up and his joyful expression had shifted into one of salaciousness, the intensity in his dark eyes heating up her insides.

"Is today my birthday?" Kai posed in a low tone standing completely still, arms at his sides.

"If it is I'd say you threw quite the bash," Bonnie nodded looking around them, looking back to him smirking. "What?"

"Well if we're gonna get technical," he shrugged catching his leer deepen, staring back wide-eyed.

" _You did all of this?"_

"With the assistance of my coven and some magical labor, _hell yeah!"_ Kai boasted proudly keeping his eyes on her instead of their immaculate surroundings. "But I can't take all of the credit, I had the leading role in the supernatural department but the initial idea was Evan's."

"Well that's some quick thinking."

"Yeah, not so much. This isn't their first time dabbling in the dark arts to spice up a school event – or a Gemini ceremony," he snickered glancing back at the group, "man I wish I was around for some of those. Anyways he texted me last night with the plan which we enacted while you girls were bathing suit shopping figuring out a way to kill me. I see we both used our time effectively."

"Basically."

"You guessed it," Elena and Care chimed in a few feet away making Kai's smile widen.

"Awh, you were thinking about me," he gushed stepping closer and Bonnie jumped back seeing his coven come up on either side of him.

"I swear you ladies are more stunning every time I see you," Michael said smoothly coming into view in blue swim trunks with the opened mouthed shark on the cover of _Jaws_ going up the side of his left leg, his washboard abs and defined biceps glistening from just being in the water.

"Easy tiger," Cody said flashing his perfect teeth, looking over his tanned and toned physique in black trunks with two giant white skulls on his outer thighs. "Try not to scare them off just yet."

"I was simply expressing my admiration to Kai's friends," he retorted earning a grin back until her vision drifted to AnnaLynne stepping up on his other side, her eyes covered by sunglasses.

"Hey! So what do you guys think, different than your last lake party?"

"I'll say; last year's looks like a swimming hole dump compared to this."

"Seriously, there are _rope swings_ and _diving platforms_ here, and whatever that is," Caroline said enthusiastically, pointing to the giant inflatable bubble.

"It's called ' _The Blob'_ , and I cannot wait to launch you off of it," Kai cracked up and on cue someone behind him went sailing into the air before coming down with a splash.

"You can thank the Gemini leader for putting it all together; we can do small scale schemes but don't have the mojo to pull off all of this."

"So what are we waiting for; your girls are here so let's do it!" Michael cheered jogging back towards Emma and Evan in the lake with Cody behind him, AnnaLynne going along with them when Care and Elena began moving forward.

"Hang on," he murmured blocking her path and lifting his hand to touch her cheek.

"Your friends could be watching," Bonnie whispered looking over her his face leaning in slowly.

"I don't care."

"Kai," she sighed catching his hand and holding them between their chests, feeling him grip hers back.

"What? You've gotten to know them; we've all hung out and sang _kumbaya_ as I've fought not to fry Michael's insides on four separate occasions."

"Relax, I've only been here five minutes," Bonnie reasoned, hearing the end of his statement over. "That's not true, right – about Michael?"

"Of course it is, and he's said some pretty harmless stuff usually about all three of you."

"Then it's not even about me personally," she quipped reflecting on the very direct course of flirtation AnnaLynne's displayed Kai's way, "I think you'll survive."

"Oh I'll survive anything, it's everyone else that should be concerned," he corrected, unable to hide the smile that spread across her face. "Fine, we'll come back to the topic later but I don't know how you expect me not to be all over you in an outfit like this."

"I guess I'm making you work for it today," Bonnie uttered in a silky tone, striding around him and examining Cody up on the wooden platform to her left, jumping onto one side of ' _The Blob_ ' sending Michael soaring halfway into the lake.

Emma, Evan, and AnnaLynne were out on one of the floating docks and her friends were climbing the wooden stairs leading to the rope swing.

"So where should we start?"

Scanning the scene a platform caught her eye and lip curved, looking up to Kai on her right. "How about a race?"

Following her finger pointing to the destination the two walked to a picnic table near the stairs and kicked off their flip-flops putting the towels beside each other and paused watching Kai pull off his wife beater. Bonnie hasn't experienced the simplicity of seeing him shirtless and not instinctively reacting because of it too much – especially recently – and the factor of them being in public physically unable to only made her desire him more. Pulling the romper over her shoulders it slid down to her bunched waist and tugged it down to her ankles tucking it in her towel, hearing Kai curse behind her and turned to his hands clamping down on the table caging her in.

"I don't know if I can let you go out there, there's a lot of dumb college guys that'll be lining up to say the wrong thing with me in ear-shot. I don't think any of us want to see that."

"Well if somebody suddenly physically combusts then I'll know who's to blame," Bonnie smiled sweetly leaning into him a beat before ducking under one of his arms, talking as she walked backwards, "and I think you're giving me a little too much credit."

Instead of responding Kai stalked behind her, inspecting every inch of her from her feet up and shaking his head. "The only thing I should be giving credit to is how much better I've gotten at controlling my impulses."

Bumping into the stairs Bonnie raced to the top with him two steps behind her, reaching the top and overlooking the two long slides dipping into the beginning of the lake. From the side she had thought the material was plastic like most of the rides at a waterpark but the sides were soft plush tubes to keep you in and the middle was a slick black material with water flowing down from jets at the top. Seizing the opportunity of Kai not fully ready she pushed off the tubes and zoomed over a dip going at an upward angle into the water, managing to balance herself enough to not dunk her head too. By the time Bonnie had processed the urgency to swim away one of her ankles was tugged back and her inner thighs connected with the waistband of his trunks, watching the droplets fall off his nose and eyebrows getting drawn in closer.

"You cheated."

"I took advantage of the moment I was given," she replied, buzzing at his hands moving restlessly up and down her thighs and torso.

"Scandalous reasoning, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Pushing away from him Bonnie swam over to where Caroline had just swung in and made a splash, the both of them cheering when Elena came flying over their head a few seconds later. Expecting Kai to swim up beside her she checked her surroundings and behind her, not seeing him anywhere.

"Where-"

Care's loud shriek cut her off and looked left to her friend being propelled out of the water landing ten feet away, checking beside her again where the top of Kai's head emerged out of the water bent over snickering.

"What the hell, Kai!"

"It was _Eenie Meenie_ between the three of you, if it helps," he hollered as she swam back sending a wave of a splash in his face, "but don't worry, there's plenty more of that to go around."

"Sounds fun," AnnaLynne joined in swimming over with everyone, including Evan and Emma.

Admittedly the Gemini's have all grown on Bonnie since their first encounter – specifically this past week of spending every other day with them and learning more about all of them. The guys were more inclined to talk about what growing up in a coven is like and how different it was having a bloodline connection with other families linking them together – and the trouble they got into because of it. Evan was her favorite out of the group; the funniest and most charismatic of the circle giving Kai a contender to fight against for his long-defended title.

The _happy-go-lucky_ energy he exudes is one Bonnie's spent almost a full year of her life with, but where their coven leader is scarred with darkness light still shines brightly within the younger Gemini, his innocence still intact. Since he's dating Emma she's been the other person they spent the most time with and while Bonnie sees her as harmless and begrudgingly favors her simply for _not_ being interested in Kai, he has a more skeptical thought process about _Liam Walsh's niece._

"Who is he?" Bonnie heard herself say, thinking back to a conversation from the other night during dinner.

"A friend of my dad's."

"Did you see him at the ceremony?"

"He's one of the members," he nodded focusing on cutting his steak into tiny pieces.

"You haven't mentioned him before."

"I'm not exactly fond of him," Kai said swiftly, biting a piece of meat off his fork.

"Why?" She pressed staring him down in a far-fetched attempt to read his mind, the theories that she subconsciously conjured up shaking her to the bone. "What did he do?"

Catching the fire in her tone Kai lifted his gaze to hers and tilted his head after a moment, examining her. If Liam was a friend of Joshua's when he was a kid than that could only mean one thing that made Bonnie's stomach churn; his dad had an accomplice during the vendetta against his son.

"I don't have proof but I'm pretty sure he was the one that put the idea of shipping me off to a prison world in my dad's head. He always used to say that I was from another planet and needed to catch my flight back. And siphoning his magic every chance I got probably wasn't helping my case much," he snorted taking a long sip of his drink, "if he didn't scare me then than he'll have a hard time succeeding now, but at least when it was one-on-one I knew his game and where he stood. With Emma she grew up in the generation that didn't know or fear me because all they heard were old scary fables but she was also raised in a family where her uncle was Liam, someone who has a _vivid_ understanding into my violent streak. There's not a chance he'd let her get this close if there wasn't some ulterior motive he's playing."

"Like what?" she inquired staring at the deep worry line between his eyebrows, trying to make light of the topic. "Sticking you in another alternate dimension?"

"Well I'd like to think I'm a little less naïve than my teenage-self, but I've learned not to underestimate my opponents – especially if it has to do with me," Kai winked flashing his mega-watt smile that at one point filled her with loathing over his cockiness and had progressed in the most unforeseen circumstances into making her stomach flutter, but during that moment she could see through the gesture for what it really was; a defense mechanism to protect what he's truly feeling.

"We were opponents when we first met," Bonnie pointed out and he chuckled eating a mouthful of string beans.

"I know, I was including you too."

"You managed to win me over," she stated in nonchalance, twirling her fork around the mashed potatoes, "and succeeded in not only breaking out of your prison but with me _willingly_ aiding and abetting you. Liam could do as much planning as he wants but you are scary-effective at winning people over and he has no control over that. So play up your strengths and do what you do best; change her opinion about you."

Locking eyes Bonnie squirmed under his fervent stare after a full minute of silence, her breath catching in her throat the same way it's been doing all week in his presence. Nothing had changed between them and Kai hadn't been acting any differently but every so often a chill ran down her spine when he looked at her; her body physically responding to his unspoken commands burning a hole deep in her core, unable to be vanquished without his touch. Kai's face leaning in closer was viciously removed from her current daydream; looking down and blinking against the blinding shimmer off the water that she was suspended over, taking a beat longer to register she was sitting on top of his shoulders.

"Alright, who's going to be our worthy chicken fight challengers?"

On cue Michael and Cody dipped out of sight only to appear between Care and Elena's legs in full battle-mode a few seconds later, both charging towards Bonnie at the same time. Throwing her arms out to ward them off the three best friends fought dirty to take the others down – shoving and tickling working more than effective and Elena went down taking Caroline with her when she poked underneath her ribs.

"Hah!" Bonnie laughed out in triumph clasping Kai's hands held up beside her and hanging on as he spun in circles yelping when he fell backwards taking her down too, turning her body to shield her head from going under.

Evan scooped up Emma for the next round and Michael was a step behind him lifting AnnaLynne up onto his shoulders, the girls having their own mini-war over who's the champ when a forceful shove propelled the redhead backwards. Before Bonnie could object she was suspended in the air again – eye level with a striking blonde.

"This is it Bon, the championship round. Now _don't be nervous_ , no pressure – even though you're the one that's holding this team together but we got this!"

Bouncing from one foot to the other they bobbed closer to their competitors and stayed still with her palms up in front of her chest, the game seeming a little less ' _friendly'_ when she wasn't against someone she knew. Feelings her hands on her shoulder Bonnie pushed back, scrabbling for thirty seconds at most before she yanked AnnaLynne sideways sending her into the water.

"Ooh and she's down!" Evan boomed high-fiving Cody, "awesome."

The two Gemini's emerged from the surface already laughing and she exhaled a held breath, sliding off of Kai's shoulders down his back and drifting over to her friends. It felt like Bonnie had blinked and an hour had passed, loitering around the water with her friends and Kai's enjoying the simplicity that days like today reminded her of; living in the moment. They had lounged on the floating docks, jumped off the diving platforms and zip-lined skidding into the water at the end if you didn't choose to let go while you were airborne.

The group had made a consensus that the rope swing was the most exhilarating attraction and made a game out of two people each rope that were separated between a wooden platform and swinging out at the same time seeing who could get the farthest distance. Bonnie was always consciously aware of how close Kai would get to her and his coquettish manner, playful and appealing drawing her in every time her mind scolded her to not react.

"Hey Parker, let's go check out how the obstacle course is in action!" Michael called out waving him over and Kai glanced his way looking back and tilted his head waiting for her response, shoving at his chest lightly.

"Well go ahead _Parker_ your friends are calling you."

"Come with me."

"I didn't hear him call my name," she reflected gazing up to the sky feeling his hands slide around the back of her thighs pulling her with slow steps. "And I'm _certainly_ not in the mood to be running an obstacle course."

"That's fine, you can watch me," Kai declared as if it was the obvious answer.

"What if I want to hang here with the people I came with?" Bonnie countered, hiding her smile behind an arch of her eyebrow and felt a flush of heat spread when he jerked his head motioning to look behind him to Caroline and Elena drying off next to the rest of them.

"Your friends want to watch me," he breathed next to her ear leaning in close and clenched her teeth at the shiver that shot down her spine with such ferocity her skeletal system shook.

"Your friends want to watch you too," she managed to force out catching AnnaLynne's eyes on them over his shoulder.

"So everyone's eyes are on me _but_ yours?" Kai specified pushing his hands farther back bringing his face in closer. "I'll have to change that."

Swimming backwards out of his hold Bonnie could feel the attention on them and turned, doing the backstroke over to where they were all standing with her eyes still on him. "You coming?"

Dunking his face to just above his mouth he crept towards her like he was closing in on his prey and she was hit with a vivid memory of being in the cave in the prison world in a situation similar to this; time doing a number on the relationship between the two but still finding herself struggling to come to terms with what she's feeling and how to express them healthily. Paddling over to the shallow water Elena handed her a towel and the white romper, sliding it over her soaking wet bikini.

"So I hope this isn't too forward," Caroline whispered looking behind them to Kai patting his chest with a towel and throwing it over his shoulder, "but your boyfriend's new physique…"

Clucking her tongue when she trailed off Bonnie snorted into a loud laugh and covered her mouth glancing between her best friend's bright smiles. Looking their way he flashed his grin and shook his head striding over to Evan and Emma starting off in front of them down the path, following behind. The sapphire one piece with cut outs of her fare skin everywhere showed off her curves and matched her red hair well, while Evan's shorts were white on the left side with Heath Ledger's Joker eyes and smile with black _'HA HA HA'_ around it and the same laughter in red on his right leg over black material seeming very fitting for his personality.

"I think after us both dating Damon and Stefan and the discussions we've all gotten into that's pretty harmless in comparison."

"I know but its Bonnie, and it's… Kai; but right now it's hard to remember that's the same kid that Damon used to talk about."

"Yeah he's hardly the same scrawny weasel I was imagining."

"A touch less evil than I was expecting, too."

"Mm he did kidnap me and make me forget I was in love with my boyfriend," Elena reminded them with a finger raised, " _and_ he murdered someone within days of being back."

"Damon told you about that?" Bonnie asked, not sure why she would expect anything different. "Did he tell you why after he came to talk to me?"

"He just said something about Kai being even more cunning and dangerous than he thought," Elena dismissed rolling her eyes back, "I figured it was just Damon being Damon."

"It is, but I guess he had a point," she murmured thinking back to that night, checking to make sure everyone was out of ear-shot, spotting AnnaLynne moving up to stand beside Kai. "He did it because of me."

"What?"

"Yeah, he – there was this guy that wouldn't leave me alone and I guess from being in isolation for so long I freaked out and ran into the bathroom. Kai found me and I was… a wreck, and he bumped into the guy as we were leaving."

"Did you know?"

"No I had no idea until Damon stopped by the house an hour later."

"So that was still a pretty terrible act but at least it wasn't _soulless_ ," Caroline interjected, "and Damon's like a virus, once you have him you can't shake him so he isn't going anywhere."

"Okay well regardless, but I don't know, since the merge he doesn't seem _quite_ so awful."

"He wasn't _all bad_ , right?" Bonnie asked with optimism, deflating subtly at Elena humming exaggeratingly attempting to come up with something.

"He helped my mom," Care vocalized in a soft tone, looking over to her staring at the back of his head, "before he merged into someone with a conscious… Kai gave my mom a few more days to live."

The statement settled over them filling them with silence, reflecting. The first time Bonnie had seen him after he interfered in the twin's ceremony was when he showed up at the church Mrs. Forbes service, at least a week after he had gone to the hospital to siphon the magic from her system that was poisoning her from within.

"Bon, can I ask you something personal about him?" Elena inquired, pulling her from her daydream by raising the hairs on the back of her neck and made an effort to joke it off.

"Yes, every part of him upgraded after the merge."

"No!" she shrieked through her spark of merriment, Caroline's face getting red from Bonnie's response or her reaction, she wasn't sure. "I was curious about the mark on his back."

Any trace of humor fled from her face in an instant, eyes darting from one girl to the other drawing her eyebrows in seeing a flash of the whip slicing open his skin and hearing him bellow out in agony.

"Bonnie?" Blinking at her friend she hadn't realized she had stopped walking and cleared her throat feeling uneasy. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled forcing her feet to propel forward, "maybe you should ask him."

"Would he tell us?"

"Probably not," Bonnie lifted a corner of her mouth thinking of the excuses he could come up with as to how he got it.

"Please, I promise I won't bring it up or tell anyone but I noticed when he was lounging on one of the docks. Did you do that?"

" _No_ ," she replied horrified by the thought, "he's had that since he was sixteen. It's from his father."

Both girls' necks snapped in Kai's direction examining the slash mark cutting across his muscular back from shoulder blade to his lower ribs wearing the same tormented expression she assumed she has every time she looks at it. Bonnie could see the wheels turning in their heads playing through scenarios but they didn't have to bear the burden of witnessing the brutality on the broken teenage boy firsthand, helpless to stop it.

"That's a pretty big scar. Couldn't he get it magically removed?"

"Doesn't want to, said it ' _makes him look tough_ '," she mimicked in a macho voice, "I think he's full of it and keeps it as a reminder."

"Of what?" Caroline asked quietly extracting the answers out of her and bit down hard on her button lip feeling her chin wobble, throat coarse.

"Of whom the real monster is." Making a sad noise in the back of her throat Care reached up to the sun charm on her necklace and Bonnie lifted her fingers to trace the moon, checking her other side seeing a star placed in the middle of Elena's chest. "It's easy to pin him as the villain after hearing about the unforgivable acts he enacted on his family, but it wasn't an overnight flip of the switch. He went through a lot to end up where he did – most countries would consider it torture – and when it came down to it he just wanted to survive. I'm not excusing anything he did, I'm just – I don't know what point I'm trying to make."

"That maybe he isn't as bad as what everyone thinks," Caroline suggested hip-checking her lightly, "wouldn't be the first person we met that wasn't at all what their image perceived them to be, probably won't be the last. But _would be_ in the same category as Damon for most surprising transformation; if Elena wasn't roofied I'm sure she'd be agreeing too."

"It's possible," she shrugged unable to hide her smile, "those gorgeous and charming tortured souls _are_ perpetually impossible to resist, and this one's got it bad for you. I know how much you meant to Jer while you were together and as painful as it is for me to admit it Kai does seem to have genuine feelings towards you."

Care clapped giddily on her other side hearing their friends admission on a topic she's been hesitant about, wondering more than anything what it was that made her change her mind.

"He does have a hard time keeping his eyes off you," Caroline pointed out picking the same three-second window Kai decided to use to glance over his shoulder to her while Evan rambled on beside him. "And he's very touchy-feely."

"Not just that but he seems different when he talks to you, like something shifts," Elena pointed out taking her by surprise, fishing for more information. "He's still the same sarcastic person but he seems more… calm or something."

"I know what you mean," she agreed and Bonnie threw her hands up in disarray.

"Oh good, I'm glad you both know what's going on, I'll be over here any time you feel like filling me in."

Snickering at her mini flare-up they reached their destination and examined it from left to right, the anticipation building in her abdomen at the thought of seeing Kai running this. Finding him near the group of kids lingering near the starting line him and the Gemini boys wandered down the side of the course checking out all of the different obstacles.

"You know, you've changed since you came back with him too," Care commented leaning over to say it in a hushed tone, shifting her gaze to hers and squinting them slightly, wary of where she could be going with it. "When he's around, you're happier."

"Even when you're mad at him," Elena added with a light laugh.

"Which just amuses him more; Kai seems like the type you can argue with because he doesn't take anything seriously – besides you. And even when you can't stand him, I feel like that would be a comforting thought. You can be pretty guarded which is rightfully so after everything you've had to go through but he seems insistent on proving that point otherwise, and I can tell it's working."

"Me too," Elena grinned and Bonnie's cheeks flushed looking away over to Kai in a conversation with Evan, the former sociopath not looking even a day out of place in this generation's surroundings. Praying to push into another topic her line of view trailed around the broken up group and obstacle course, awaiting the first person to tackle it.

-x—x—x—

' _This is sweet'_ Kai thought to himself seeing people run two at a time through the course, diving into each obstacle. The set up consisted of a ton of different parts; varying from the harmless running through tires, to jumping over hurdles, and balance beams to the intermediate monkey bars, climbing a rope net, and hopping between tree stumps, to the more advanced actions of crawling under wire, a mud pit, and climbing a rock wall to hit a button at the top. As far as supernaturally carpentering this event it'd been handled with a flick of the wrist but his fingertips tingled with adrenaline thinking about actually _running_ the course and seeing if it's as cool as it looks.

"Ever seen _American Ninja Warrior?"_ Evan asked stepping up beside him continuing to walk backwards away.

"No."

"Well we are about to become one!" he cheered thrusting a fist into the air and he smirked following behind. "We were thinking of doing a little tournament; two one-on-ones and then the victors battle it out to become the warrior, are you in?"

"Sure," Kai replied casually, never one to turn down a competition, "are we using our mystical advantage in it?"

"Nah, we're going old school."

"Cool, what does the warrior get?"

"Ultimate bragging rights aren't enough?" Evan quipped shaking his head. "You leader types, always wanting more; alright how about they don't have to help clean up the place?"

"You were really planning on sticking around to clean up all of this?" he asked skeptically waving his arm around the area. "Why?"

"We don't like to leave evidence behind, eliminates the chances of people asking questions," he remarked in a way like he's had this state of mind for a while now, Kai picking up on the extracurricular activities their inner circle must have gotten into under the strict ex-authority figure's nose.

"Smart; okay let's do it."

"Sweet; hey Cooper! You and Turner are up first, try not to embarrass yourselves too much because I will hold it over you for the rest of your life," Evan hollered over to them near the starting line with a wink, "now get out there and make me proud!"

Chuckling at the statement Kai looked over his shoulder scanning the faces until he found the one he was looking for, emerald green irises shining back at him. Letting Evan know he'd be back in a minute he closed in on his target flanked by her two friends, looking over her outfit for at least the hundredth time today, maybe two. The white fishnet-material looking one-piece was barely considered coverage since you could see through it but the layer of clothing revealing what's underneath made Bonnie look even more enticing, the primitive need to claim her growing each time he isn't able to touch her.

The black leather Scarlet seductress bikini was a whole other story – one with naughty parts and a femme fatale on the loose, and Kai was eager to hear what her take on it was going to be; the anticipation making the time tick by at a knuckle-dragging pace. Slowing his speed his lip curved seeing Bonnie's gaze drop down his stomach shuffling from one foot to the other appearing to be doing the same thing as him and lifted his hands covering his nipples, exhaling smoothly when her smile ignited.

"I see you checking me out," Kai sassed when he reached them dropping his arms, "I'm not a piece of meat, Bon, I'm a real person underneath all this."

"Sometimes I find that hard to believe," she declared back with a skeptical _one-eyes-bigger-than-the-other_ stare.

"He's like a modern-day _Pinocchio_ ," Elena pointed out, cocking her head to the side, "although I don't know if you fit the ' _brave, truthful, and unselfish'_ status quo."

"Two out of three isn't bad," he expressed cheekily tilting his head the same way.

"So what happens when you lie? I haven't seen your nose growing out of your face lately."

"Being dishonest is such a tedious act, wouldn't you say?" Kai pressed not breaking eye contact. "The truth eventually always comes out."

"So where does that put Bonnie in the production?" Caroline wondered drawing his attention to the one who holds all of it, knowing the answer without having to think about it.

"My Jiminy Cricket, who else?"

The howls from behind him didn't break his focus watching the way her eyes dropped in a shy way exhibiting the cracks in her tough exterior and gazed back at him with a small smile.

"Yo! We're up!" Evan called out behind him.

"You're racing Evan?"

"Yep, and then when I win I'll be facing-" Kai trailed off finding the victor with his hands raised and head thrown back, "Michael. So I'll meet you back here in ten."

Flashing his pearly whites he jogged over to the starting line of the pretty intricate layout stretched out in front of him, Evan already there and waiting.

"You ready to get your ass kicked by someone half your age?"

"Just on the inside, on the outside I'm twice as fit," he goaded, crouching low and taking off when he heard the bell.

Running twenty feet to the first task Kai hustled through ten tires jumping over a few wooden hurdles and jogged across a windy balance beam, jumping up to reach the monkey bars overhead and swinging from one to the next. Hitting the ground he raced with Evan beside him to the rope net to climb up and over, hopping across fifteen or so log stumps and gained a bit of a lead by the time he reached the extreme portion of the course. Dropping to the ground Kai army crawled under the crisscrossed wire ducking his head to not slice through his forehead and rolled down the muddy hill into the brown water landing with a hard splash.

Weaving through giant rolling pins he had to duck under one and roll over the next six times until he reached a rope to climb up back to solid ground. Feeling the burn in his arms from the rope and legs from forcing his body against the water he checked over his shoulder to Evan just falling down the hill and blew out a hard breath grabbing one of the fake colored rocks, working his way up. Using his upper strength to hoist himself onto the platform his palm slammed against the button sending off a loud buzzer and turned to his opponent struggling to get up the rope.

"Woo!" A girl's voice chimed and looked over to Caroline with her hands cupping her mouth, Bon and Elena clapping and laughing beside her.

"What's the matter Hayes, stuck in the mud?" Cody jabbed from down below. "You need a hand? I've got AnnaLynne right here."

"Shut up Cooper you didn't win either!" Evan shot back using the adrenaline to pull himself up, chuckling from up above as he searched for the latter on one of the sides to get him down. Heading back Kai looked over his competitor covered in mud and then at himself looking the same way, bumping fists when he reached him. "Nice run, dude. Do me a favor and wipe the course with Turner to make me feel a little better, would ya?"

"Will do," he promised looking over to Anna and Emma picking up two hoses on his right and aiming them in their direction, raising his hands like he was being held at gunpoint. "Officer, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm going to need to see some ID," Anna replied formally and he patted his chest and trunks empty pockets.

"Don't seem to have one of those on me, but I'm sure you've heard of me, little connection to this whole _Gemini_ shindig," Kai said in a hushed tone and slapped Evan's arm with the back of his hand. "We both are."

"I don't know," Emma commented raising the nozzle up her boyfriend's frame, "I've heard they're a pretty big deal, and you two don't seem quite up to par."

Turning his head to Evan his brows drew in when Kai's smile spread and focused on the girls, twisting his wrist at his side spinning the handles in their hands and squeezing his fist hitting them with the spray at full blast. Squealing and shrieking the guys cracked up and he loosened his grip regretting his decision immediately when the water was turned on him drowning in a waterfall. Once he was clean the water ceased and shook his head wildly getting it all out of his ears staring ahead to Anna and Emma falling into a fit of giggles at the soaked men.

"Well that'll wake you up," Evan coughed standing tall.

"And I'll be taking another one in about – oh, two minutes," Kai confirmed spotting Michael up near the front waiting for him and headed in that direction, winking at Bonnie as he passed.

"Looks like it's the _battle of the Beasts_ ," Michael remarked hitting it spot on as he thought back to the Masquerade party.

"Let's see if you can keep up," he spurred taking the opposite side to keep things interesting and bent his knees getting into a running position, sprinting when the bell sounded.

Kai's opponent was deemed worthy as he kept up with him the whole way through; during the easy, intermediate, and even the extreme levels. The only time he gained a lead was when Michael dove over one of the rolling pins and didn't stick the landing falling flat on his back but Kai spent so much time bent over laughing to fully seize the advantage. Heaving for breaths when he hit the wall over being winded for doing this the second time in a row and exhausted from his previous fit of hysterics Turner was only two steps behind him sending the same charge of energy that Evan felt and propelled himself up the last half of the wall in a flash, hitting the button half a dozen times hearing the buzzer go off for every one of them.

"The Ninja Warrior is none other than the leader himself, _Mr. Kai Parker_!" Evan called out raising an imaginary glass and Kai bowed with a grand gesture, keeping one arm outstretched near the wooden railing so he didn't fall forward off the platform.

Reaching the top Michael patted him on the back giving him a round of appraisal before turning and taking the latter down, following after and landed on the dirt still trying to catch his breath when he pivoted almost barreling into someone. Catching her by the biceps Anna's smoky grey eyes connected with his, steadying her before moving back a step.

"Oh, didn't see you there."

"No it's my fault, I should have said something," she laughed in the back of her throat, "I just wanted give you congrats on the title."

Before he could respond her arms were around his neck pulling him in for a hug, reaching around her with one arm to reciprocate and looked at his arm. "I'm getting you all dirty."

"It's okay," Anna breathed against his shoulder leaning back to see her sternum and bathing suit top covered in mud, snorting as he looked her over, "we should probably get washed off."

"Yeah, I'll meet you over there in a second," Kai agreed looking over her head for Bonnie and stalked over with his arms out, hers still crossed over her chest. "I come out of that the champion and I don't get any affection?"

"You're filthy, go hose yourself down first," she ordered and he took a step closer, a hand being thrown up to stop him. "Kai I mean it… I'm wearing white."

"You can get hosed down with me," he countered, the dark smirk spreading up a corner of his mouth moving closer to the three, "or you can just take that off."

"I'm not going to strip down just to give you a hug."

"Have it your way," Kai tossed out with a tilt of his head, reaching for her waist to pull her in wrapping his arms around her upper back and dug his face into her neck, inhaling.

"Now _that's_ a hug," Caroline said off to his left and Bonnie stiffened trying to lean back but his grip wouldn't let her budge, not being able to touch her whenever he wanted making his arms lock.

"Kai," she murmured hearing the edge in her voice and reluctantly let go, his flare or irritation subsiding when his line of view trailed down to her neck and her entire front side was covered in brown wet mud, her backside probably looking somewhat similar. Gasping at her stained white outfit she muttered something under hear breath waving a hand over her body to magically wipe herself clean.

"Good as new, give me a minute and I'll be the same," Kai nodded jogging back over to the hose twenty feet away and sprayed down his chest and legs, leaning forward to soak his hair.

"They're all hot, but she is smokin'," trickled from the other side of the rock wall, letting go of the nozzle with his head still bent over. "She's petite and _all curves_. Then there's those green eyes tempting you for more – thinking about what kind of girl she's like when you're all alone."

Michael's voice rang through his ears with clarity and dropped the hose leaning up slowly, taking casual steps towards the wall not to draw anyone's attention feeling his adrenaline pumping clenching his jaw tight.

"You've been alone with her," Cody spoke up.

"Yeah but you know what I'm talking about; whether it's sweet and romantic or if little miss nasty girl brings her A-game," Michael joked and Kai shut his eyes, willing himself not to impulsively react and fall into old habits. "And have you checked out her ass today? I don't think I've been able to look at anything else; I just keep imagining getting behind her and ripping her bikini down, grabbing a fist full of hair and sliding in d-"

Growling in the back of his throat Kai didn't realize his hand was raised with fingers parted and curled in until Michael's howls of anguish pulled him out of it, dropping his arm quickly and looking around the corner to the younger Gemini on his knees gripping his temples.

"Turner, what's going on?" Cody asked rapidly beside him bending down to look him over.

"What happened?" Anna asked on his other side placing a hand on his arm.

"My brain felt like it was exploding," Michael forced out through the discomfort, "it still does. It feels like – like-"

"Like an aneurysm?" Bonnie asked suddenly by Kai's side, feeling a simmer of anger that he could guess where it was directed at.

"Y-yeah," he responded in almost a confused tone, lifting his head and squinting to look at her through one eye. "It felt like every neuron was firing off."

Seeing her posture tense Kai tried to focus on the glare she threw his way and not over how pissed he still is at what he overheard but the battle kicked into overdrive when she knelt down in front of him putting her palm against the back of his hand on his head. Mumbling quietly what he knew was going to be a healing spell Michael breathed out a sigh of relief and blinked a couple dozen times rubbing his eye sockets and around his skull.

"Any better?"

" _Much_ ," he grinned making a long sound of comfort. "What was that?"

"I don't know, I'm just glad you're feeling better," Bonnie smiled and he slid his hand up her forearm.

"Thanks."

"Alright who's up for another round of zip-lining," Kai vocalized pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"Kai, one of your _members_ is hurt."

"Oh just shake it off, you'll be fine. An airborne cannon ball off of _The Blob_ will get your head cleared in a second."

"I like your style," Michael agreed pulling himself out of the daze with a shake of his head and pushing to his feet, "let's head over."

Falling into step with one another Kai gravitated towards Bonnie on the other end and touched her wrist to have them fall back a few paces, catching the flecks of fire in her green irises.

"What the hell was that, Kai?"

"Why whatever do you mean?"

"I mean one of your Geminis just dropped to the ground like his brain was being fried after you were just telling me that's exactly what you've been trying _not_ to do to him; coincidence?"

"Mm not so much," he replied scrunching his nose to hide the rage, "I'd say he was more along the lines of terrible timing or ' _three strikes and you're out_ ', something cliché. But hey I put out a clear warning my impulsiveness might take over when you're walking around at a lake party wearing that; if I can't verbally react than I'm going to physically."

"So this was about me, you promised before that you wouldn't hurt anyone because of me."

"No I don't remember that," Kai remarked with a single shake of his head, "doesn't ring a bell. Besides _mini brain blasts_ are training wheels compared to what where capable of; isn't that the go-to torture choice against Damon?"

"Only when he deserves it," Bonnie glared looking irate to be agreeing with him, "but-"

"Same reasoning," he cut off hearing the choice words he overheard, "and he's fine so there's no need to fret."

"I'm still not happy with you," she said sternly and crossed her arms.

"Does that mean you don't want to go zip-lining with me?"

"That's a fair analogy."

"Rope swing?"

Instead of answering she shook her head rolling her eyes back and retreated over to her friends, scanning the group up ahead stopped near the edge of the water looking out and spotted Anna next to Emma.

"Ready to zip-line?"

"Absolutely," she replied with a subtle raise of the corner of her lips and moved away from the group heading towards the correct platform, passing the time talking about nothing in particular as they waited in line and headed towards the top. "So that was pretty cool seeing you set everything up today, for someone who hasn't had powers until recently you really seem to know what you're doing."

"Just because I didn't have my own didn't mean I was _without_ , _"_ Kai clarified leaning in so other kids couldn't overhear with a smirk thinking back to a few special occasions where his siphoning skills got him out of a few sticky situations.

"Oh I know, Ashley filled me in on some of the things you two would get into – I'm surprised she stuck it out," Anna commented making them both chuckle and moved backwards up one of the last steps.

"What else did she tell you about me?"

"A lot," she stated with emphasis moving to the same stair, "she was pissed off all the time when I was a kid but it wasn't until high school that she started opening up about who you were and how close you used to be. I would always bug her saying I could place your face being at the house and I knew were nice to me so you didn't seem to fit the whole ' _crazed homicidal_ ' angle. When my 18th birthday came and went and I still wasn't initiated I planned on going to your dad and tearing him a new one – which really I was fine with because I've never been able to stand him anyway – and Ashley stopped me by telling me the type of person he really is and what he's capable of. She said you guys always used to fight, whether it was with words, or… worse, and how terribly he treated you. Honestly just hearing about it made _me_ want to kill him."

"You'd go down with him," Kai reasoned thinking over the hundred different ways he plotted the coven leader's death.

" _I know_ so I can't imagine what it'd be like in your shoes, but I am positive it wouldn't have ended well for him. Have you been able to find him yet or is he still MIA?"

"Cowards usually stay in hiding," he shrugged putting it simply as they moved up to the platform; the need to tell her he saw his father over Bonnie seeming unnecessary.

"I'm… sorry," came out in a hesitation to his left and peered over to foggy gray orbs, "about how it all turned out for you."

It had become second nature for Kai to block out the outside world from what happened behind closed doors in Portland but Ash had been an innocent bystander witnessing more than a few verbal assaults between the two and had firsthand knowledge into her friend's darkest sides. The intuition had grown the older they got and things that she used to not press him about or dwell on – like the slash mark across his back – had become too obvious for her to ignore what the real truth was. Unfortunately Kai was at a disadvantage because he doesn't know if her outlook wavered over the years or _what_ exactly Ash told her little sister about him.

"It didn't turn out so bad," he countered flashing his teeth and stepping aside with an arm behind her back, gesturing for Anna to walk first towards the edge of the platform near the curved metal semicircle being slid back up the zip-line. Looking over her shoulder Kai's line of view went to one girl out of a lake full of people, watching as she floated around her friends. "Better than expected, actually."

"How so?"

"Well I'm a mega-powerful leader to a kick ass coven, for starters," Kai beamed widening his eyes briefly catching her smile, "as well as getting a few surprising twists along the way. I can't complain."

"Happy to hear it," Anna remarked sucking her bottom lip in as she took a step backwards; tripping over someone's foot and leaning back falling off of the wooden platform suspended forty feet in the air.

Lurching forward Kai heard everyone's gasps and shrieks of surprise as he reached behind her using his momentum to yank them both back, crushing her to his chest and searched her frantic eyes and hasty breathing.

"That's one way to get to the bottom, but not exactly what I had in mind," he declared through a small smile trying to ease her look of shock, ducking his head to get a better look in her eyes when she didn't respond. "Are you alright?"

"You saved me," she let out through an exhale, her tone mystified.

"Your sister would definitely risk destroying the coven just to kill me if I let you fall to your death five away."

"Anything that ever left your dad's mouth was vows that you were dangerous – evil; you were incapable of helping another person."

"He's a pretty overdramatic man," Kai brushed off stretching to stand tall when the lightest touch pressed against his lips – jerking his head back at the contact. "Woah…"

"What's the matter?"

"Anna," he began and dropped his arm from behind her moving them to the side so others could pass and took a step or two back to give them a fair amount of room. Bonnie's vexed quarrels that his ' _new friend_ ' was reading into things too much now seemed somewhat vindicated. "You're Ash's baby sister."

"I'm twenty-three year's old," she argued moving a pace towards him, "I've grown up since you were last around, and in case you didn't notice – _you haven't._ "

"That's not the only issue."

"What wouldn't be an issue between us is your past because I know all about it and I don't judge you because of it."

"Anna."

"And the big cherry on top is that I'm a witch and a member in your coven which means our energies is already compatible."

" _AnnaLynne_ ," Kai vocalized with more sternness, coming up with half a dozen endings to that sentence trying to choose the right one; _'I have a girlfriend', 'I'm not interested', 'love B-'"_ I don't see you that way. Ash was like a little… older, non-biological sister so you got saddled into the same group."

"The only problem with that is I _don't_ look at you the way a sister should, and the only reason you think of me like that is because of your friendship with Ashley which was a long time ago. Why don't we just try and see how it goes?"

"I can't."

"Kai," Anna reasoned touching the back of his hand and he curled his fingers around her wrist not breaking eye contact.

"Even if Ashley wasn't your sister I still wouldn't be able to date you," Kai said bluntly and her taken back expression gave off the impression that she had been slapped. "My heart wouldn't be in it."

"How do you know?"

 _It's already with someone else_ , he answered internally and fought the urge to roll his eyes back at how corny he's become, letting go of her wrist as a corner of his lip lifted in a half smile. "I just do."

Pulling her lips in to bite down her arms crossed over her stomach and took a step back; squaring off against him reminding Kai of the defensive pose Gabby had that day in the auditorium. "Your dad said you lacked the ability to feel human emotions but I don't believe that, I've seen the truth myself and I plan on showing you too."

Before he could answer Anna retreated to the edge of the platform and gripped the metal bar overhead, jumping off and gliding down into the water. Kai stood there a minute longer immediately wanting to spend the rest of the day up on this wooden surface suspended in the air, away from the minefield of grenades down below. Dragging his feet to the other side he gripped the metal and soared towards the lake, letting go halfway and sinking down to the rocks and sand staying in the underwater escape until his lungs were near combustion.

-x—x—x—

AnnaLynne had swam over to the group three minutes ago – looking less than pleased – but Kai was still nowhere to be found. Bonnie had just given up turning to her friends when a loud splash came from that area, scanning the water for at least fifteen seconds and not seeing anyone resurface. Catching the end of Elena's statement she was in the middle of her response when hands slid around her waist hearing Kai's voice against the top of her ear.

"Hey."

Pivoting Bonnie leaned back but his grip stayed firm on her under the water and tugged gently towards him. "Hey, yourself."

"We weren't sure if you were coming back down or drowned in the lake since AnnaLynne showed up like fifteen minutes ago," Elena wisecracked.

"Seriously and she looked _pissed._ What happened Kai; did you insult her bathing suit?"

"Nothing quite so extreme," he quipped and squeezed Bonnie's flesh until she focused in on his face. "Come with me."

"To where?" she wondered looking around them and he did the same, tilting his head in the direction near one of the stable docks and started ever so slowly pulling her through the water. "Why?"

"So I can get you alone."

"What – no, I'm still annoyed about before," Bonnie remarked and her eyebrows drew in at the comical sound that left Kai's lips and continued to drag her with him.

"Well we'll see how you feel in a minute," he said making her skin break out in goosebumps even in the warm water, being led to the other side of the dock out of sight from their friends.

The setup of this secure structure looked like a backwards 7 from the shoreline jutting out to the right for more space to jump off of and there was a little bit of extra space that jutted out on the opposing end, making a small 90 degree angle nook she could squeeze into with Kai shielding her from view. They were still out deep enough that Bonnie couldn't reach the bottom and pressed her back to the wood using it as some type of leverage to stay up without kicking, an arm wrapping above her butt to curl her legs around his hips.

"What is it, Kai?"

"I don't want you to read into this more than you already have – because it doesn't matter, _she_ doesn't matter to me, but something just happened and if the roles were reversed I'd want to know," Kai rushed out through a single breath and she instinctively held hers. "Anna tripped and almost fell backwards off the platform but I grabbed her and pulled her back up to safety, and I guess in all the chaos of her revved up with shock and adrenaline she tried to kiss me."

"She-"

" _Tried_ ," he reiterated, "and I told her I'd never see her that way and it wouldn't work out because it seems to still be undisclosed information that I have a girlfriend _._ I told her she's the equivalent to a little sister so if that doesn't get the point across and yell ' _not interested_ ' than I don't know what will."

The natural tendency to tense up and protect her insides kicked in as Bonnie's jaw squared surveying his eyes scrutinizing her face. Even if Kai is genuine and honest that no part of him wants to be with AnnaLynne it still doesn't change the fact that she wants him and is _actively_ making strides at getting closer. The lingering ache in her chest from the instant she had learned of Jeremy's infidelities came haunting back that ultimately ended with her boyfriend choosing another girl, leaving her heartbroken. Refusing to let herself feel so vulnerable in public Bonnie slipped on a mask of impassiveness, needing to know one tiny detail before she went back to the group.

"So her lips didn't touch yours, then?" she inquired trying to swallow the lump in her throat and didn't blink fearing the heaviness behind her eyes would turn external as she watched the crease form between Kai's eyebrows and shifted his line of view to the water for a beat.

"Maybe for a fraction of a second – at most," he verified tightening his hold around her backside and towered over her practically resting his forehead against hers. "I know you – I know how you think… and this isn't the same thing. I'm not some dumb kid who can't see what's right in front of him or questions his instincts; you're the only one I want. It's actually a little unnerving, knowing how sure I am."

"Why?"

"Well _'consumed', 'obsessed'_ and _'has a hold on you'_ were some of the catchy phrases Josette would use to describe my _slightly-less-than-civilized_ fixation on our dad and his secrets, and I think about you at least as much as I thought of him back then, if not more. I think about that day with Damon at the supermarket, the first time I felt your magic coursing through my bloodstream," Kai lulled running his fingers across her skin unhurriedly, lifting a corner of his lip up, "and the first time I gave it back. Then there's the archway, waterfall, at least a dozen dates even though you only consider one or two legitimate, _cough France,_ where we have a string of other memories concluding inside the Eiffel Tower."

"With fireworks," Bonnie added and he smiled wide kissing her cheek.

"Yes, thank you. Bon I'm so into you I don't even notice anyone else, let alone contemplate _feeling_ something for them. I –"the end of Kai's sentence was stuck at the tip of his tongue, staring open mouthed at her before a hand slid up her ribs cupping the side of her neck and his eyes cooled to a soothing gaze. "You can trust me."

It was something in the way the words were expressed – so open and bona fide –that made Bonnie _believe_ that his promise was real. At the very top of the list that was made when Kai Parker first came into her life was ' _do not trust him_ ' and although she has wavered and been lenient on said rule she never did, in fact, break it. To her this term means relying on another person, having faith in them and knowing in your gut that they would keep you safe and could fall back on one another. Until the two of them made it back to present day none of the requirements had been checked off the list but once the initial spark was ignited it was like a domino effect; knocking one down after the next until there was no game left standing, just the satisfaction of the effort you put into it.

Bonnie's found herself up against a fair share of drawbacks since she arrived in present day; starting with Kai's illness, dribbling through her friends judgy ways against the designated bad guy, the merge, the horror show Care has had to go through with her mom and then shut off her humanity with Stefan, and let's not forget to mention Joshua Parker stopping by to cast a life-binding spell between them to top it off. Being up against obstacles is something Bonnie's become fluent in over the last few years but something she never had during that time was Kai's allegiance, and it has made all the difference. The guy that she found solace in when her best friend decided to flip her switch was the same partner in crime who put everything on the line for her to be able to succeed and because of him, she could.

Against every hurdle Bonnie has become more reliant on Kai and his constant assurance has brought forth a calming ease when she's in an otherwise apprehensive situation; his dominating aura dulling the senses and filling her with a strong sense of composure in place of the frenzy. When she's made strides in pushing him away he's pressed forward shoving through her boundaries and sticking by her side when any rational man would run. Kai's proven to her that he will protect her, cares for her, can be a rock that she can rely on, and the nagging voice in the back of her head won't stop it's relentlessness that she should have faith in him – in the two of them.

Sliding her fingers through the back of his wet hair Bonnie conceded to his vow and felt a shiver go down her spine as her mind and body accepted it. "Okay."

"Okay like ' _cool, good to know_ ' or ' _okay…',"_ he identified with minute detail, the smile spreading over the only annoyingly endearing way he goes about finding information on things when he's feeling self-conscious.

Brushing her puckered lips on his jaw back to his ear she puffed out shallow breaths as her pulse pounded against every pressure point forming a string of words that Bonnie would have never considered to be truthful. Choking on the frozen exhale her limbs began shaking feeling high-strung and closed her eyes, whispering the confession against his skin.

" _I trust you_."

A piece inside her chest warmed soothing the rest of her body when Kai instantly curled around her nuzzling into each other's neck, forearms sliding behind her until his hands gripped her opposite waist certain she was working with a limited supply of oxygen. Ten seconds turned into thirty and the thought to lean back had just crossed Bonnie's mind when she was momentarily blinded by the closeness of his face before he crushed his lips to hers. Squeezing her arms and legs around him her incapacity to breathe didn't faze her as she scratched her nails down his muscles, surging into her with a growl.

Guiding her movements Kai rocked her over his hard shaft gasping lightly at the contact and rolled her hips into him harder getting hold of a fist full of hair for stability before continuing. A tug near Bonnie's pelvis was promptly followed by a release of the resistance around her upper left thigh, another snap up higher loosening before she registered what was happening.

"Hey!" she hissed through the kiss swatting at his fingers underwater, answering her the same way.

"I'll fix it in five minutes."

Taking in a breath to ask what he meant a guttural sound protruded out of her throat from Kai's two fingers pushing through her entrance and circling his thumb around her clit, arching into him on command as the stable wooden dock she was leaning against started to creak.

"Someone… could see us," Bonnie struggled to get out through her choppy gasp, tiling her head with her their foreheads pressed seeing the open lake on her right and the shoreline fifteen paces to her left.

"I haven't seen anyone pass through here yet," he grated out in a low voice making her teeth chatter and clenched up around him, "and if they did all they'd see is two college kids getting frisky from the elbows up."

"I think they'll notice if the structures start crashing down around us," she pointed out hearing the bell on top of the buoy clanging as it swayed around at a steady speed. "This place isn't spelled for protection."

"I _could_ do it," Kai put out there, squinting at him hearing a ' _but'_ coming on, "or I could cloak us. My preference is neither but I will do whatever the lady pleases."

"What if I want you to stop?" Bonnie fired back grunting when his touch thrust into her sharply and hovered, his nose just barely touching hers.

" _Do you_ want me to stop?" Cursing internally at Kai calling her out on the bluff silence apparently was not the best answer when it came to her new boyfriend because he could hear those underlying secrets loud and clear and didn't miss an opportunity to point them out. "Or does the thought of being so risqué while we're out in public turn you on; the metal butterflies banging around in your stomach at the possibility of some random kid passing by unaware since we're hidden in plain sight? What are you really thinking, Scarlet?"

The nickname triggered the inner temptress to awaken from her dormancy and looked back at him with a flare in her eyes, the energy around them shifting taking Kai's dark taboo into consideration. A strong gust of wind sent a wave up and over the edge of the platform getting her on her upper back and neck but hit him square in the face, coughing uncontrollably at the shocker of being submerged by a rogue wave. Wheezing out an ' _I'm fine_ ' before she could ask the hunger peering back at her cracked off Bonnie's last ounce of restraint and initiated the protection spell, mumbling out the chant she's heard him say half a dozen times as he stared with awe.

When the final words were enacted an invisible waft drifted across the lake settling the franticness they were stirring up and focused her attention back in front of her, dragging her fingertips down his chest and leaning back to get in between them when his soft lips pressed to hers stopping her descent. The aggression was simmering off of Kai in heatwaves – the erotic sounds and breathing through clenched teeth a clear indication of what was swirling around inside – but the way he kissed her had such a gentle and sweet undertone to it; slowly sliding her arms around his shoulders feeling an immense warmth bloom out from her core.

Instinct took over and met his every movement with a thrust of her own, Bonnie's heart pounding wildly around her ribcage whenever hushed declarations of ' _there's only you'_ , ' _need this, and 'can you feel how I want you?'_ rang through her eardrums, shivering when he'd drive his hips forward feeling how hard he was under the material. Towering over her Kai cupped the side of her neck pulling her face to his and mewled into his mouth making her eyes heavy; unable to open them when a thudding of feet pattered down the dock she was up against splashing loudly two feet away.

"Kai…"

"And no one suspects a thing," he murmured against her lips dipping lower down the column of her neck, "isn't it invigorating?"

Bonnie couldn't say it out loud – she could barely admit it to herself – but the aroma of being out in the open so wild and free with someone brought forth a salacious and oversexed vixen burrowed down deep, intoxicating her with its essence. Holding onto him with one arm curled around his neck she slid her hand in the water dipping into his swim shorts and cocked her head when Kai slid on a sweet smile, shaking his head once before dunking under the water pulling her hand clean out. When he resurfaced Bonnie licked her lips subconsciously at the wet matted hair and droplets trickling down his unchaste gaze

"What's with the double standards?"

"I just want all of the attention on you," he countered biting up her chest and under her chin, his thumb rubbing her bundle of nerves lurching forward and pushing his fingers in deeper, "watching you come undone because of me is my favorite part."

"But-"

Slipping his fingers out Kai saddled in closer gripping the beam behind her head and reached around sliding his middle fingertip into her rear entrance, locking her legs and biting his neck letting out a piercing noise.

" _Shhh,"_ vibrated down the back of Bonnie's neck grinding into the underside of his shaft feeling a tingle every time a grunt or sigh escapes his open mouth as it travels over her skin.

Rocking over him faster Kai's finger quickened its pace and curled her arms and legs around him so tight if another stranger passed by them they would know exactly what the two of them were in the middle of. Tugging at the base of his skull the mixed blend of exhibitionism while still having the illusion like they were the only two people in the lake had Bonnie's ravaged cries of satisfaction escalating to the point of needing to be physically silenced.

Cupping his palm over her mouth her head lulled back looking up to the clear sky and rested his forehead against her temple using his hand between her cheeks to rock her into him – the untamed and dominating action arousing something within her and screamed out feeling her body surrendering to his. Heaving through the limited air supply Bonnie turned her face in towards his drifting a smile across her lips seeing the sensual hunger directed at her, his heart beating at the same rapid speed as hers.

" _I can't believe we just did that_ ," she rushed out digging her face into his neck and his torso shook with laughter, "you're a bad influence."

"I know," Kai murmured through a grin moving his fingertips across her back and thighs, infusing the straps on the bikini back into place as he went. "I'm sorry."

"I think I can excuse you for it."

"No, I mean for earlier," he specified and Bonnie leaned back taking in his earnest expression, sucking in her bottom lip and biting down.

Starting with one corner of her mouth Kai moved around her face kissing either side going up her cheek to beside her eyes and left a peck on the tip of her nose, a soft graze against her lips being the final destination.

" _Oh!_ " Sounded off in a startled voice beside them, breaking the connection to turn towards a curly-haired blonde staring slack-jawed at them before snapping it shut. "I'm – I'm sorry. I didn't – I uh… I should go."

Frozen from head to toe Bonnie observed AnnaLynne swim away and dart out of sight, Kai's voice coming out muffled and far away as the blood roared in her ears. Puffing out shortened breaths the scenery blurred knowing that their relationship being under wraps was about to be front-page news in the Gemini circle, stomach turning thinking of what she would have to admit to for why they've been so secretive all because of how they were just outed. Bonnie's chin was turned to a pair of inked-out irises searching hers and heard his voice again, a touch clearer this time.

"They were going to find out soon enough; it's not a big deal."

"No but that was a pretty _awful_ way to be discovered – and by _AnnaLynne_ ," Bonnie stressed an octave higher, "who you just – oh yeah, yeah, no biggy. _Damn it, Kai_ , why did you have to pull me aside and tell me all of that and then flip everything around because look at where we are now. I can't go over there, I think I'll just duck out and meet you back home."

"Absolutely not," Kai responded in a calm voice kissing the top of her hand that he caught in mid-air when she tried pulling away, "I'll do all the talking, just come with me."

"That seems more like a ' _coven thing_ ' which I don't need to be present for."

"I want you there."

"But I don't."

"But you must," he quipped pulling her away from the dock before Bonnie could hold on, reaching for nothing but water to stop his movements and he tucked her hands above her butt flattening their chests together. "You're mine, Bon, you already know that – but I'm yours too, however you'll have me."

The darkness in Kai's unwavering gaze lifted and the flecks of blue brightened to life like a light switch went off behind them, the significance of the statement barreling down on her like a freight train. A confession like that – that he is Bonnie's to have her way with and no one else's – was something she never expected to hear from him because it's coming from a man who has never openly put themselves out there to anyone, and she most certainly didn't presume she would be the one to do it for him. The assurance behind the declaration told her Kai meant what he was saying but it was the way his voice shook on the last line, like he was nervous of what he was saying, that reassured her he was sincere.

"Then I guess we ought to let your friends in on it too," Bonnie reasoned tilting her head side to side and grinned into the kiss she was being pulled in to.

Letting her lead the way they swam around the dock back over to the circle and went motionless when she spotted AnnaLynne off to the side in a rapid conversation with Emma and Evan, Michael and Cody just floating over to see what the commotion is while Elena and Caroline lingered nearby.

"Go ahead," he whispered from behind her earlobe drifting his knuckles down her spine, taking a deep breath before moving into the kill zone.

As if radar went off every time Kai was in the room AnnaLynne's head swiveled in their direction locking eyes with them both, quickly followed by the rest. The only ounce of comical relief that was keeping her from fleeing the scene was her friend's expressions of perplexity as their necks craned from the Gemini's on their left to them on their right.

"Hey guys," Kai called out waving them over, slowly trickling over while the witness stayed the farthest back, "so just a quick thing, not to interrupt your regularly scheduled programs but I guess I need to throw it out there – uh, we're dating. We've _been_ dating, actually, but yeah, that's it so go about your day."

"I told you they were!" Emma remarked slapping Evan's bicep with the back of her hand, reacting in an overly dramatic fashion rubbing his arm with a pained face. "I told you, I said there's n-"

"I know darling, I was there," Evan intervened, "I was also there during the times the four of us would chill where opportunities would rise to show off your couple-y side.

Bonnie squeezed her thighs so tight she was sure she was about to puncture five crescent nail shapes into her skin, line of view darting left to her girls huddled close looking like they were giving each other the play-by-play. Feeling stupid that she even put herself in this position to begin with she figured she'd follow Kai's advice on most things by just saying it and getting it over with when the flash of his teeth caught her attention and he shrugged through a short laugh.

"That's because I didn't want you all to know. Nothing personal but given the whole ' _locked in solitary for two decades while everyone thinks I'm evil'_ label over my head I wanted to keep some of my cards close."

"Why bother keeping it from us; we're your coven, we wouldn't judge or interfere in your personal life," Cody noted.

"Because I don't know you," Kai rebutted blatantly, "any of you, really, but I'm _getting_ to know you. I mean Hell, I've been around these two longer and I still don't even know the blonde's name."

"Ass," Caroline remarked through a smile she couldn't help, lighting up his expression.

"And like I said, I've only known Elena and Ass for a few months," he said through a straight face ignoring her high-pitched scoff, "but they know because they're Bon's friends and she trusts them. I, on the other hand, am still learning about all of you."

"Don't know if you can trust your fellow clan, aye?" Evan queried in an Irish accent.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Kai said back with a smooth smile, Bonnie's heart squeezing thinking back to the night after the massacre when his coven betrayed him and exiled him to a prison world. "But I'm hoping the duration of my overextended vacation has been on my side."

"Well that's cool dude, congrats to the both of you… I guess," Cody finished in an unsure tone provoking the rowdiness and teasing from the guys.

"So have you been together since before you came back, or after?" Emma pepped looking from one person to the other and they both made awkward and uncertain babble.

"Technically I asked her out after."

"Ah but you two were already – _ow_ , what? I'm just clarifying what he's saying."

"We don't need the instant replay when we're here live," Emma shot back at her boyfriend checking over her shoulder to the blonde that hasn't looked Bonnie's way or spoken once.

"So why are you telling us now?" Michael wondered and the flames burned underneath her cheeks seeing Evan's giggly smirk four feet to his right.

"Oh, man, Anna just swam on over and exposed them putting 'em right in the spotlight."

"That wasn't my _intention_ ," she hissed back, hearing the sting in her voice.

"But now here we are, funny how things turn out," he said lightly and the terrible timing seemed to strike a nerve, Anna pivoting and backstroking down the lake.

"So uh, Parker, earlier today with the whole _freaky brain blast_ … you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Not at all, but word of advice watch what you say when people can hear you." Whatever Michael had said that Kai overheard made him go expressionless, opening and closing his mouth a handful of times starting up different ways to go about backtracking and apologizing, both falling on deaf ears as he turned his attention back on her and leaned in close. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay?"

Glancing over to the direction AnnaLynne had disappeared to Bonnie nodded in understanding and he dove under the water and out of sight in a flash, not resurfacing within her eye-line and begrudgingly made her way over to her friends sensing everyone's focus on her.

"Well that was eventful."

"Tell me about it, we should have run to the concession stand to get some popcorn and watch from one of the floating docks," Care chuckled agreeing with their friend. "Did Anna really go over and see you two together? What were you doing? Or how _into_ it were you? Or – oh dear, did she stumble upon something that can't be unseen?"

" _No_ but we were making out and he had me pressed up against the other side of the dock and we were pretty into it so I know _I_ wouldn't want to be the girl who walked in on that with a guy she likes. Because _funny story_ Kai pulled me aside so he could tell me Anna had just kissed him five minutes before.

"I'm sorry-"

" _What?"_

"Oh yeah, he stopped her and said he wasn't interested – and now she knows why – but that's how that conversation started out."

"Which concluded with the two of you making out?" Elena snickered and Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek playing out the very dirty details in between.

"Yeah it was a rollercoaster, and it ended the same way coming full circle," she remarked and both girls snorted into a fit of laughter catching the attention of some of the circle, "which apparently means him chasing off after the other girl."

"That would be one messed up movie, and no one would root for the guy in the end so it'd be a flop."

Distracting her with pointless dialogue the time seemed to tick by while she waited until Anna came back into view fifteen minutes later and bee-lined it to Emma, the two immediately getting out and going for a walk. Kai moseyed over a couple of minutes after and Bonnie's eyebrows drew in examining the distress on his face. Instead of speaking he closed in sliding her legs around his hips and pulled her in nuzzling into her neck, crouching low so half of his face was submerged.

"You look like you've had a long day," Caroline said through a mile behind her head getting a view of Kai's hidden face, lifting it to rest his chin on her shoulder.

"There has been a lot of one-on-one interactions going on; talking, racing, talking myself in circles like a race," he summed up curling his arms around her tighter, "it's still a trip trying to get back into the swing of other people being on Earth with me."

"My little Martian," Bonnie hummed giggling at his fingers tickling her ribs and mimicking ET's voice and making alien-like sounds.

"Yo, we're going to do another round of everything, you coming?"

"Want to go?" she asked the three of them taking the girls hips and hollers as confirmation and let them go first, needing to know something before she untangled herself from Kai. "Why did you take the blame when not wanting your friends to know about us was my idea? I would have told them."

"I'm aware," he replied with a lift of a shoulder, "I also know you didn't want to."

"So?"

"So I don't care if they think it's me."

"But what you said-"

"Is true; I don't know them, or trust them, or want them to know more about me then they should and you seem to be a touchy subject for me so it's probably best people don't ask a lot of questions."

"Oh am I?" Bonnie purred shaking the tip of her nose against his and he relaxed into her brushing his lips up her pulse.

"Immensely."

"That seems to go both ways," she admitted sliding her index finger down his chain to the pendant, "well… thank you."

"No need, I'm more than willing to let _Mr. Smooth_ over there know the next time he hits on you will be his last," Kai teased grabbing hold on her waist and spinning them in circles, making their way towards the shallow water.

The next hour was spent trying to adjust to her boyfriend actually getting to _act like it_ around other people; tensing up or putting distance between them when he invades her space – which is 95% of the time. Everyone besides AnnaLynne and Emma went around in the group from one event to the next falling back into the calming hum they were in earlier and was ending their day back in the lake, floating around as the sky was painted with pinks and purples with orange illuminating all around. Bonnie had spent the last fifteen minutes switching off with Kai giving each other piggybacks – which Care had to get in on too – and every limb hung loosely off of him completely at ease as she traced designs on his ribs, leaning against one of the floating docks so she didn't fall off.

"What are you thinking about?" she pondered after not hearing Kai say anything for a few minutes.

"Well I just went through a kaleidoscope of thoughts but the last one revolved around hoping Ash doesn't come down and kick my ass when she catches wind of all of this. Not that there's anything to catch, per say, but you know what I mean. She, on the other hand _won't_ and that would be one awkward conversation to have."

"You think AnnaLynne will tell her older sister she tried to make a move on her oldest best friend; because I really don't. Telling her about _us_ though, I could see."

"Really?"

"It's more likely than your option," Bonnie said spiking her anticipation but seemingly easing his; putting herself in Kai's shoes for a minute of how nerve racking it would be to have your best friend's younger sibling be interested in you and _not_ return the favor. Not only that, but then have to pull them aside and say he's been dating someone the whole time AnnaLynne's been flirting with him. Come to think of it… if she was the spiteful type then Kai might be more on track than she's giving him credit for. "Personally I would like to put a face to the name and see who your best friend was growing up."

"Well she's aged, so that puts a semi-morphed face of the girl that I knew to the name but you would get the gist."

"Do they look alike?"

"Not really, they're both blonde but even that isn't the same Ash's is darker and not quite so bleached. But yeah everything else; short, brown eyes, tan – as well as the personalities, all seem to differ in one way or another."

Bonnie was glad he was facing away so he couldn't see her grin spread at the thought that his friend was sounding better with each new piece of information, certain she would get along with the Stone sister that used to love Kai as a brother over the one's whose interest was a little more lovey-dovey.

"Where is AnnaLynne, by the way? She still hasn't come back."

"She and Emma left a while ago, didn't you see them?" Kai asked tilted his head to her, copying him against his shoulder.

"Get out of the lake, yes, but I didn't know they were gone. Did everything go okay when you went to talk to her?"

"Yeah it was fine," he remarked which was universal for ' _it didn't go as planned_ ', "it probably could have gone better, but I think it could have gone worse too so I call that a fair trade."

"Was she angry?"

"Little bit."

"Upset."

"Little bit," his voice dropped an octave deeper, swinging his arm to bring Bonnie in front of him and pushing off of the floating dock easing onto his back. "Put your arms on my shoulders, I'll keep you from drowning."

"Well with a chivalrous offer like that," she said playfully and linked her index fingers behind his neck, bumping their torsos together every so often as he moved his arms and kicked backwards splashing around leisurely. "This is nice."

"This moment, or the day?"

"Mm well I meant right now but, both, even with the bumps in the road," Bonnie stated with a shake of her head and was moved up by the hips getting pulled in to a fiery kiss she was not ready for that left her lips and extremities tingling long after it ended.

"Roll onto your back," Kai's voice sounded drawing her out of the daydream and blinked a few times in confusion, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. "Don't trust me with your life?"

"While we're surrounded by water… eh," she let out shakily, a bubble of laughter spilling out seeing his face alter at lightning speed to shock and hurt, mouth wide and eyes bulging. "Okay fine you baby, let's see how you do."

Unhooking her fingers to spin around, the world swayed with her vision getting hit with five seconds of disorientation to get readjusted and let out a soft noise feeling Kai's fingers drifting up her back. Sinking down to his chin Bonnie's arms drifted out by her side and sighed an overdrawn exhale releasing something out of her practically rolling her eyes back with repose.

"Look up," he breathed beside her and had to center her attention on blinking her lids open, the exquisite site overhead knocking the wind out of her.

The sway from the water was lulling Bonnie into a tranquil state dulling some of the overworked parts of her mind and the watercolor painting across a stretched canvas overhead took her to another place entirely. Scanning every inch she couldn't take her eyes off of it and found herself with a plastered dazed smile on her face, a sound mixed between wonder and joy escaping through her vocal cords. Humming as Kai continued to keep her suspended while unhurriedly moving to and fro Bonnie decided against everything she was going to put this on the ' _good days_ ' list; a minor bump in the road only strengthening them and what would inevitably cause them to spill their dirty laundry to some more folks with mixed reactions.

Against it all she felt okay – that everyone knows about them, that some gorgeous girl has the hots for her boyfriend because she got shot down, and even that they had made a serious breakthrough against Bonnie's fear of trust. It could have just been her but before they had told everyone she still felt like the two of them had been acting closer and once the secret was out it was one of the first times she's truly believed she has a boyfriend that is outwardly into her while out in public and with friends. If today's surprisingly positive turnout against some shaky affairs showed Bonnie anything it's that maybe things aren't as catastrophic as she deems them to be and should pick up a pointer or two on how to relax from her significant other.


	36. Chapter 36

Bonnie turned the key in the ignition pulling out of the driveway and glanced down to the clock on the radio; grating out in irritation that she was over an hour late to pick Elena up from the hospital and the blame was wholeheartedly placed on Kai. Spending most of the morning curled up in bed she was beginning to regret her choice of making a plan to hang out in advance as she stayed snuggled up inside a cocoon of blankets wrapped inside Kai's embrace, his fingers dancing across her naked back.

"I have to get going," Bonnie uttered for the third time smiling at his grunts of disapproval, "I still have to get dressed."

"Sounds like a lot of work, are you sure it's worth it?"

"I told her I'd get her from work."

"But do you really want to?" he countered and she nuzzled into his chest letting her true response out before leaning over and swinging a leg to straddle him, not giving a moment's pause to look over the virile specimen between her legs before leaping off of him to the hardwood floor. "Message received."

Shielding her face so he didn't catch her reaction Bonnie moved around the room sliding on a pair of panties and pulled out a white BDG Crepe stripe button-up dress. Skinny and thick grey stripes cut down vertically and the black buttons stood out against the stark white with the help of a skinny black belt around her waist. The sleeves ended halfway down her bicep but the shape of her body must be a little more _curvaceous_ than the average girl from France because the material clung to her frame and only went as low as her upper thighs, some type of bottoms to go with it deeming a necessity. Bent over and rummaging through the drawers Kai's voice resonated from directly behind her, shooting her upright.

"I don't feel well."

"What's the matter?" Bonnie asked instinctively spinning to him towering over her placing his palms on the dresser.

"I think I'm burning up." Lifting a hand to his forehead she was about to tell him his temperature was fine when his hands slid up her stomach and over her breasts, unhooking the buttons on the way down as his gravelly voice rattled her. "I might need a doctor, maybe even a full physical to get to the bottom of what's wrong with me."

"Sounds serious," Bonnie played along in a stern tone, huffing out an exhale when the last button was undone exposing her body, "maybe Elena can pencil you in during her internship."

"I need a woman with a little more personal experience," Kai countered gripping her outer thighs and lifting her onto the bureau settling in between them, "someone who knows how to handle me."

"And you think that's me?"

"I think you're a fair candidate choice," he nodded with a rueful grin, breath catching when his boxers slid against the thin material of lace.

"You mean a person who's had an in-depth look at your anatomy?" Bonnie inquired back, seeing the spark ignite behind his scorched gaze.

"You have my permission to do a full body analysis, Doctor Bennett; have your way with me."

The open invitation blended with the surge of authority that she could do anything she wanted triggered a yearning so deep Bonnie hadn't even known she felt this way until she was pushing Kai backwards sending him stumbling onto the bed. Walking with each deliberate step their eyes locked when he leaned up on his elbows, tensing every muscle in his abdomen as her fingertips brushed across them heading south.

At a crouched angle the sheer size and mass of Kai's shaft sent a thrill of intimidation and hunger through her bloodstream making her lightheaded, the same reaction that overcomes her every time he's stripped naked in front of her. Tracing light designs with her fingernails up his thighs Bonnie's anticipation rose catching the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk in her peripheral – assuming it's at her undefended expression feeling the nerves bubbling up to the surface and traveling out her shaky hands, gripping his flesh to steady them.

"Everything okay, Doc?" Kai asked tilting his head to the side resting it on his shoulder, lifting her chin and standing tall between his legs.

Arching her back the sleeves rolled down her arms letting the dress flutter around her feet and arched a brow, meeting his stare with her own commanding gaze. Inch by inch she drew her face closer to his, being halted by the edge of the bed bringing her mouth halfway up Kai's abs and his hard underside was tucked firmly between her breasts. Using the position to her benefit Bonnie rubbed against him provoking a hoarse end of an exhale, ducking her head to hide the smile and brushed her lips across his skin using the tip of her tongue to trace the defined lines he gained from his metamorphosis. The rush that flows through her never fails to make her tingle every time Kai's muscles tighten from her touch – his cocky grins and sassy banter the façade against his body's physical and instinctual reactions that he can't control.

"I don't know, you have a very rapid heartbeat," Bonnie responded in a formal tone, flicking her line of view up his long torso, "is this something that happens often?"

"Recently," he confirmed with a nod.

"Then I would suggest staying away from those strenuous activities," she began and his loud guffaw broke her concentration.

"If that's your educated analysis then I'll risk the heart attack, thanks. And speaking of making my heart stop – come 'ere," Kai murmured holding out his hand, "I have an idea."

"The last time you said that I ended up tied to the bed."

"Did you like it?" he asked openly, Bonnie's eyes squinting slightly bringing forth a soft laugh. "Then you can trust my judgment. No bondage this time, I promise. You'll even have the better advantage on me – and I do mean that literally."

"What do you want me to do?" Left her vocal cords unconsciously, letting him lead her onto the bed and crawled up beside his ribs.

"Turn around."

"What?" she asked scrunching her eyebrows when he didn't explain farther. "Why?"

"Because I have a plan, and the first part involves you facing the other way."

The composure in his voice didn't seem to ease the butterflies swarming in Bonnie's stomach but listened to him regardless, one leg being swung over to the other side of his head when she was off balance in half a pivot.

"Kai," she let out teetering forward dropping her palms to his lower abdomen to steady herself, his fingers drifting up to grip the thin lace, "don't-"

Before she could get the words out Bonnie let out a harsh sound feeling the sting of the material being torn against her skin and swung her hand around swatting at his. Kai's light chuckles at her low sound of hostility in the back of her throat only amplified when the final tug snapped the elastic against her thigh and she swiveled her upper half to get her hands on him – only to be hindered by his pushing her arm up behind her back propelling her forward.

Ripping the shredded remnants away Bonnie lurched forward feeling his mouth sheath her completely, a sonorous boom being expelled from somewhere deep inside. Panting out short huffs her mouth lined up to the tip of Kai's dick, noting his hold tightening around her wrist the longer she drew out the wait and his entire frame shuddered at the contact against his sensitive head. Aiming to stay cautious as she swirled her tongue around Bonnie's body had other endeavors planned, responding to every touch and silent command that was being asked of her.

Fighting through the heavy breathing against Kai's audaciousness her fingers wrapped around his base squeezing as she pulled and her thighs shook at the vibrations of his deep growl. Taking a few needed beats to center herself Bonnie loosened her jaw taking him in as far as she could manage, choking when his ragged groan sent her down farther. The ascent back up wasn't as suspenseful until a sharp _smack_ across her cheek forced a screech out of her full mouth, letting go of her wrist to grip both cheeks of flesh burying his face in to physically assault her in the most blissful way imaginable.

Rocking her into him spots appeared in Bonnie's vision signaling she was close and gained a new determination using one hand to pump him swiftly as the other tickled all of the sensitive areas within range. The more she teased him with things like dipping her hand lower to caress his underside, focusing with detail on just the tip and not the whole package caused him to react in a virile and assertive way; using the curve of her butt to control her movements bursting out resonances mixed with shock and pleasure each time she felt the familiar sting against her cheeks.

When it came to Bonnie's sexual experience – she was lacking, to put it lightly, since Jeremy was the only person she had been with. That's not to suggest that they weren't all over each other behind closed doors but their antics were a little more… reserved, and was typically consisting of the same routine. Because of that level of comfort she had never experienced the unthinkable and significant delights she's had with Kai; from letting him ravage her while in public places – both cloaked _and_ visible, to discovering a new side of herself that has a _'temptress fetish'_ , and all while letting their magical sparks are flying obliterating their surroundings.

Aside from the earth-shaking variances the little things were what really opened Bonnie's eyes to what she had been previously missing; like the severe aching in her chest when Kai wasn't with her, the way she noticed other girls gawk at him and glare at her when they're together, and that even after all they've been through he still makes her nervous and excited simultaneously, overall unable to shake the invisible tether between them. Since her and Jer didn't mix it up much Bonnie also didn't get to take part in things that other couples probably did frequently – like the apparent oral fixation she's picked up since being with him – and had certainly never winded up in a position where they were both doing it to each other at the same time.

The way that Kai lifted his head to push into her or grip between her open thighs to drive her backwards made her feel like he couldn't get enough of her and that unspoken confession of predatory salaciousness drove her wild, rolling into him and planting her palms beside his thighs using his movements to pump him with her mouth. Hearing his rough utterances as his stomach muscles clenched an inch away from hers Bonnie had a fleeting thought that she had gained control when a firm pressure pushed against her rear, a garbled moan spilling out of her closed vocal cords. The vibrations traveled down through Kai and grunted nudging through the restriction pushing down to the knuckle, drawing him out of her mouth as she cried out a piercing sound.

Sagging onto him Bonnie's temple collided with his upper thigh from his knee being bent and heaved in what little oxygen she could hold onto before gasping it out. Electrified neurons fired behind her closed lids and hands shook violently on the bed, too weak to lift herself back up. Unintelligible utterances of ' _oh God',_ ' _too much', 'Kai',_ ' _yes',_ and a stream of choppy assurances rolled off her tongue by its own free will, his body physically reacting to her declarations only spurring Bonnie on more. Closing in she licked and pecked up the side of his shaft slow taking him back in feeling like she was attached to a charged voltage, every stroke and caress causing a moan to reverberate around his hypersensitive area sending him over the edge.

Kai's huffing and puffing was scorching against her tender folds and thought she was going to lose it on the spot when she caught his thighs shaking in her peripheral giving away how close he was too and blew out a breath for the needed push, curling her fingers down low and drawing him in as far as he would fit – and then farther. Bonnie could feel the guttural growl deep in his chest against her lower stomach and whimpered softly, the final descent cutting off the last bit of her airway and hands flew out digging her nails into his flesh.

A sensually provocative sound escaped Kai a few octaves lower than a baritone against her sex as he trembled underneath her which set off her own orgasm, her closed lids brimming with tears and falling down her cheeks from not being able to let out the trapped scream. Bonnie's system felt overstimulated, shaking violently around him and steadily drew him out of her mouth – the high-pitched and erratic clamor not sounding like her real voice. Getting spun around Kai coiled an arm behind her back and she peered through heavy lids at the worry line between his eyebrows, ducking her head in embarrassment when he wiped her wet cheeks.

"Oh Bon, ever the emotional one," Bonnie heard in his playful voice and nuzzled her face deeper into his chest, his next sentence more somber. "I didn't hurt you, right?"

"No," she remarked with a quiet laugh, lifting her head to curl up closer into his neck and paused looking over his features.

"But you'd tell me if I ever do?"

"Of course, telling you what you're doing wrong just fills me with satisfaction," she sassed back wanting to eradicate the grave and earnest expression he was giving her, a small smile forming when he pecked her forehead.

"I knew that's why you kept me around."

"You saw right through my rouse," she said with a cock of her brow, falling into a fit of giggles pulling her out of her moment of intensity as Kai kissed all across her face and neck.

"I usually do."

Pursing her lips at how true that statement was Bonnie scratched her nails lightly across his arms and down his ribs, leaning up just enough to tickle across his stomach hitting all of the areas that do her in and beamed when his laughter trickled throughout the room.

"I _knew_ you were ticklish! How come that doesn't happen every time I'm running my nails all over you?"

"Because I'm way too turned on to notice anything other than how good it feels," Kai admitted and demonstrated by dragging his nails up her back luring her in closer, his touch seeming like it was setting her skin ablaze, "know what I mean?"

"Mhmmm," Bonnie hummed closing her eyes briefly – darting them back open when she remembered where she was already supposed to be. Scurrying backwards she was able to slip through Kai's grasp and crouched down scooping the dress off the ground, standing to him leaning up to watch her with his hands behind him. "Stay right there."

"I had planned on it, why don't you come back over," he enticed with a tilt of his head glancing at the material in her hands and _tsk'd_ like a disappointed schoolteacher. "Why Doctor Bennett, are you leaving a patient during the middle of my analysis?"

"Somehow I think you'll be here when I get back," she commented over her shoulder turning to grab _another_ pair of underwear from the drawer and turned back to Kai sitting at the edge of the edge with his feet on the ground. "Hey-"

"Now that's not fair – I'm the one who has you right now, surely that must count for something," he uttered nonchalantly moving to stand less than five feet in front of her. "I need you and your expertise to fix me up."

"You're not broken, Kai," Bonnie said truthfully, watching the goofy mask momentarily slip away revealing his soft smile underneath, "probably just dehydrated; I prescribe lots of rest and fluids for the next few days."

"What about a quick fix?" Kai inquired stepping closer and she jumped to the side towards to the door clutching the two articles of clothing.

"Quicker than that?" She retorted throwing a hand up in the direction of the bed. "Yeah, good luck trying with your endurance."

"Hmm, you make a fine point," he said with another casual step to her, "I guess we'll just have to test out the other end of the spectrum then."

Turning into a full-fledged sprint Bonnie got her second leg halfway out the door before she was thrust backwards colliding with his nakedness, grinding into him and letting out something between a shriek and moan when his teeth clamped down on the side of her neck. Swiveling Kai kicked the door shut and she wiggled around in his tight hold, wrists clasped together by one hand.

"You know we _must_ be breaking some type of doctor-patient contract here."

"I won't tell if you won't," he whispered placing her palms flat against the dresser keeping his hand over them and hovered behind her, his bulking and rigid frame making her burn with a fresh new hunger. Keeping his eyes connected with her through the mirror Kai's free hand traced absently across her skin dipping lower and settled between her legs, nudging them wider and easing her back against his still hard shaft. "And we aren't nearly finished yet, Doc; that was just the checkup."

Groaning out in defeat Bonnie's voice hitched and turned ragged the instant his fingers grazed through her folds, feet lifting off the ground followed by her back making contact with the comforter as his face hovered close. Raking her nails through Kai's scruff her hand traveled south slightly taken back by how fast his pulse was beating and examined his calm exterior, lulling her into the same state of mind as he pulled her closer sealing his lips over hers.

The blaring of a car horn ripped Bonnie from her daydream and turned left at the light pulling into Whitmore Hospital's parking lot. Taking a few needed extra breaths to clear her mind she checked her phone again to see Elena still hadn't texted back and headed to the spot they said they'd meet, getting halfway there before a woman's unfamiliar voice behind her caught her attention.

"Hey – Bonnie?"

Pivoting with an initially confused expression the look was wiped clean, eyes bulging and mouth popping open slightly at the present day version of someone she's heard so much about. Even if Bonnie hadn't dipped into Kai's memories she'd still be able to see the person in front of her was his twin only she was sporting the age he should really be in 2013 and the physical representation was unsettling to say the least. Jo had such similar features to her brother that even with the eighteen year difference anyone would be able to spot they were siblings by the matching dark hair and piercing ice-encased irises, as well as the way they bore into your soul when you were under their scrutiny.

"Jo – hi, you're here," Bonnie stammered with a shake of her head laughing at herself, "I mean I've come by a few times since I've been back and haven't seen you, but… wow, you still look a lot like Kai. I'm sorry I'm a little thrown off, it's nice to officially meet you."

"And it's really nice to finally meet you – gives me a visual to put to the great things I've heard from your friends. Speaking of, Elena and a few other medical interns got pulled into an emergency surgery with Dr. Brooks about fifteen minutes ago so I wouldn't be expecting her need the ride home anytime soon," Jo informed looking her over, "but I was just about to go and take my lunch – get away from this place for an hour or so, would you like to join me?"

"Really?" she asked heedfully, the spontaneity of having a one-on-one with Kai's twin sister after everything she's digested about the Parker family filling her with an unexpected outpouring of anxiety. This was ' _his person'_ ; the one he used to trust and tell all of his secrets to, and also the one that helped send him to an eternal damnation.

"Yeah, I think it's long overdue that the two of us get the chance to talk, wouldn't you say?" Jo smiled lifting her purse up her shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, sounds good," Bonnie agreed swallowing back the golf-ball sized lump in her throat and headed for her car, choosing a sub and pizza place right around the corner.

"I thought I wanted a chicken salad sub but now that we're here all I can think about is the pizza I smell," she remarked with a long whiff of the air, making her chuckle.

"I'll split one with you if you want."

"Like I couldn't finish a whole pizza on my own, but regardless, I'm sold." Ordering a large pizza the two settled into a corner booth having the first real instant to dive into a deep discussion – the thought making Bonnie's leg shake. "So tell me about yourself."

"Me – I uh, well I'm 20, I grew up in Mystic Falls, and I've had more than any sane person's share of near-death experiences, the last one landing me in an alternate world in 1994."

"You know I did hear whispers of that."

"Good news travels fast. And then once I was there for a few months… I met your brother."

"Kai," Jo murmured with a sadness in her voice, "it's weird, no one's brought up his name in almost twenty years and now he pops up in every other conversation."

"Yeah, he seems to be a pretty common focal point."

"Well he certainly always thought so," she said with a roll of her eyes taking a sip of her soda, "couldn't take him anywhere. But I'm curious; do you mind me asking what he's like now?"

"I'm sure he's still very much the same, he was pretty set in his ways when I met him; sarcastic, intelligent, devious, funny even though I wouldn't admit it, and surprisingly easy to be around which is saying something since I didn't actually _want_ to be. He had a one-track mind when it came to your dad, I don't think that hatred ever lessoned which is why I couldn't believe he went to go see him and came back not covered in blood."

"Oh, he told you he went to see him?" Jo questioned sounding genuinely stunned, Bonnie's own reaction giving away her confusion. "Sorry, Kai was never really one to share – I mean with me, sure, but… anyway, what did he say?"

"Um, that he went to find you and you both went to go see your dad who essentially resides in my backyard and ask him to take the spell off of me. Kai said he offered to stand down and leave their past back in the prison world if he agreed and Joshua said he'd think about it; is that true?"

"Yes," she said unflinchingly making Bonnie respond in the polar opposite effect, the look she displayed giving away her dismay.

"But _why?_ I'm sorry I know it's your dad but… after everything, I just don't get it."

"How much do you know about his past?" Jo wondered with a skeptical squint, face morphing into one of appall when their gaze connected; eyebrows raised and mouth popping open. " _Oh._ He – so you know about their fights."

"Both physically and psychologically, and some I figured out on my own. I know about the night terrors, that he knew my Gram's, the things he had to endure. I ended up finding out more than he would have wanted me to know from getting into his head – literally – on two separate occasions."

"What?" The ding of a bell signaling their order was ready cut Bonnie off and waited as Jo scurried up to the front grabbing the tray and slid back in across from her. "Okay continue."

"Well the first time was an accident, Kai started having these terrifying nightmares that were affecting his mood and personality and I tried to help by doing a spell to pull the dream out of his subconscious but instead kind of sucked myself into it. I don't know if he had to experience the same moment on a loop or go through different ones but I saw the two of them… they were in the shed, and Kai was sixteen." The brief pause gave Jo's complexion just enough time to dull a shade paler before continuing. "I think I was experiencing it through your point of view, I got pulled into it at one point and Joshua burned my arm to push Kai harder."

"Oh my God," she mumbled behind her hand, staring wide-eyed in what Bonnie assumed was a flashback to that agonizing day.

"So I didn't have to wonder for too long about how he got that mark on his back."

"He had so many excuses," Jo snorted with a shake of her head, blinking away the memory and mimicked a deeper voice, "a vicious sloth, Wolverine came at me with just the middle blade, A bald eagle tried to carry me away, _a naked grilled cheese accident_ ; every answer was more absurd than the last with that kid."

"He hasn't lost that quirk," Bonnie simpered, "but Kai hasn't kept much from me, mainly because I've witnessed them firsthand so he doesn't really have the chance. The second time was when your dad had possessed him so I went through his ' _7 Hells'_ obstacles to get him out. You were in every one of his memories."

"I bet," she said quietly biting into a piece of pizza.

"The name is deceiving, it's a person's worst _and_ happiest times but the goal is to keep you trapped there one way or another. I saw you both when you couldn't have been older than ten, the treehouse, birthdays, Gabby, graduating, the night you two found out about your mom… and what your dad planned, and then the day he's been trapped in since '94. After everything I learned about him and saw with my own eyes, I couldn't leave him in there."

"So you took it upon yourself to break him out and a week later he merged with and killed another one of my little brothers."

"None of us walked away from that day unscathed," Bonnie reminded her, the irony being Jo made it out with the least amount of damage during an encounter which would have resulted in her death. "But I am sorry for what happened to Luke, and what Liv must be going through because of it. I never wanted anyone to get hurt, I just-"

"You care about him," Jo finished her sentence after a few ticks of silence, her posture turning defensive at the statement, "and you don't want him hurt, which is why you keep helping him. I've had my skepticisms, to be frank; I figured my brother was up to his old tricks of charm and manipulation in order to be set free then would toss you aside to set his sights on the coven that screwed him over, but it didn't go exactly as I dreaded."

"You mean he didn't drop me like yesterday's witch?" Bonnie fired back feeling like she was under scrutiny, the remark making his twin chortle.

"I don't mean to be so abrasive, but yes. Kai wasn't exactly known for his reliability."

"With you?" she quizzed catching Jo's stern expression waver. "I think Kai's the type of guy that chooses who he wants to put his faith in, he doesn't follow it blindly."

"You don't trust me very much, do you?" Bonnie didn't reply, instead going for a bite of pizza. "But you've stuck by Kai's side through all of this; that speaks volumes."

Sensing Jo's feelers out to inspect her she didn't know what information she should let out, what could help or hinder the relationship between Kai and his sister, or what she's already unknowingly spilling just by her demeanor alone. There was a mutual interrogation between the two of them to see what the others intentions are, and Bonnie wanted to get a better sense of if she still cared about her brother at all, and if not how deep the animosity stemmed.

"There was a time in your life where you did the same – even more so since it was up against your father, your coven. You made a choice and stood beside him even when he was spiraling out because you couldn't leave him."

"Because he was my brother and best friend but that was before he went on a mass-murdering spree in our childhood home, after that I wasn't that fond of him anymore."

"Which is why you sided with the person who despises Kai the most to ensure he was either killed or locked away before he got to you too; you did what you had to do, I don't blame you I would have done the same thing. And after hearing every jab directed towards his father over what he became and where he ended up, Kai doesn't seem to either. You were one of the first topics we talked about actually, he used to tell me about his nightmares and how you would try to help him, and that sometimes it would work. It seemed like when we'd talk about you he'd become more… relaxed, like it was a safe zone for his mind to be able to reflect back on."

"That's…" slipped out of Jo's lips staring back looking utterly perplexed, her face scrunched up in deep thought, "not what I'd expect."

"What'd you think; he was plotting your demise?"

"Without a doubt; that's how he had to have spent the first decade. The look he gave me before our dad started the chant – even after everything he had just done – my heart still broke seeing the betrayal on his face, like me siding with the enemy was somehow worse than his upcoming fate." Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek, her instincts telling her that Jo's guess was closer to the truth than she'd suspect. Grabbing another slice they ate for a minute in silence, the next sentence snapping her out of her thoughts. "I uh, I struggled with it over the years and would stop by Sheila's sometimes to talk."

"Gram's?" Bonnie sputtered nearly knocking over her cup.

"Yeah, she was close with Kai when we were teenagers and was someone he would talk about frequently. I figured she had to be the real deal so I made an effort to spend more time around her when she stopped by the house and came here one time with him to visit. Once he was gone no one would talk about him anymore and when they did it caused uproar so Sheila became that bit of sanctuary for me to hold onto."

"She was good at that," Bonnie smiled softly, her throat getting tight and behind her eyes burning picturing her face with clarity feeling a soothing effect overcome her.

"And boy did she have a special place for you in her heart, high up on a pedestal," Jo commented making her lip quiver, "I wasn't around long enough for you to remember me but we did meet a few times when you were a kid, no more than eight or ten."

"We did?"

"One time I had just finished moving all of my stuff into this ratty old apartment in the sticks of Mystic Falls because Sheila suggested maybe staying closer to _Hell's mouth_ where Kai could be let loose from would balance out my guilt and be able to live my own life – which, oddly, it did. So I stopped by with pie to thank her and didn't realize until I spotted all of the decorations that it was Halloween and you and a couple of your friends were getting ready. You were fittingly dressing up as a witch."

The reminder of the costume clouded Bonnie's vision with a flashback of running around Gram's house with Elena and Caroline, all fighting over who was going to be which of the Sanderson witches based off hair, personalities, and of course – their favorite colors. Care ended up as Sarah in purple with her blonde hair, Elena was Mary in red whom also had dark hair but she didn't want to be her and cried through half of the night, leaving Bonnie with the leading role of Winnie in a green robe minus the red hair. Thinking back to it she can place a girl in her twenties that she'd met before stopping by and lending a hand in fixing up everyone's outfits, taking a photograph of the three of them and Gram's that she knows is still in a shoebox in that house somewhere.

"I remember you," Bonnie let out sounding like a revelation, "didn't we have a tea party at one point?"

"We did," Jo beamed, "you said I was your most talkative tea party guest."

"Which was saying a lot seeing how you were up against contenders like _Mr. Bear_ and _Count Kitty Claws,"_ Bonnie rejoiced spiking up their humorousness.

"Oh Sheila could carry on a discussion too," she reminded, "and there was _no_ cutting off her stories."

"Not unless you wanted to hear it three times in a row. Wow, I can't believe – what a weird, surreal, small world. Both of you knew Gram's and I knew _you_ when I was little. Flash forward to over a decade later and I meet your twin who is closer to the age you were back then. I wish she would have left me a _Bennett – Parker_ handbook or something to follow the lines of where everyone intercrosses."

"She didn't seem like the type to make things easy for someone. Besides, how would she know you'd get trapped in a world with Kai all to yourself?"

"Well she wouldn't have been able to predict the future, that's true, but she was the reason Damon and I ended up in there. You see I was kind of this ' _anchor'_ to _The Otherside_ and by the time I had my friends cross back over the two of us were stuck in limbo that was crashing down around us. Gram's appeared and I tried to pull her back over but she wouldn't go and she told me she had finally found peace so I could find mine, and next thing I knew I was waking up in Mystic Falls circa 1994. It wasn't until after that I learned the Bennett blood sealed the prison like a lock and key which is how she was able to stick me in there and avoid death, but I think part of the reason she did it was for her own redemption against keeping Kai in there for so long. If she loved him as much as he likes to brag about then I know it would have eaten her up inside knowing he was trapped in _A Groundhog's Day in Hell_ and passed away before she could make up for it."

"So you think Sheila sent you in there to _Prison Break_ Kai out?"

"Either that or she wanted me to kill him for it all to be over, but I tried that and he came back twenty minutes later so I'm going to stick with the former."

"Do you think you made the right choice?" Jo questioned and Bonnie cocked her head to the side, examining her the same way she was getting it.

"Yes."

"Hm," she hummed, "tell me more about how he is now, after the night we lost Lucas."

"Since then Kai has certainly changed… but he's also the same, too. I know that doesn't make sense out loud but his core personality is still intact, but it's like the equivalent to a vampire flipping on their switch. They were living life just fine before and used to going about doing things a specific way until someone turned on the lights inside and everything that had been shut off – like every emotion across the spectrum – is now high-powered and working faster and stronger than any average person's."

"So the sociopath got blasted with a dose of humanity. That's only forty years overdue, give or take."

"Better late than never," Bonnie shrugged aiming for optimism, "but it's true, and it did change him. According to Elena and Care, ' _he's a real boy, now'_."

"Well I would take your word on it more than theirs seeing how the two of you are dating, right? When he went to barter for your life Kai seemed pretty committed to the cause. Fooling friends and family is one thing but your _significant other_ can usually see through the bull and know what they're feeling. So what do you believe, is the change in him real?"

Taking a moment to recollect on the obnoxious boy she met while in isolation from the rest of the world, all the way through the prison world into present day – past the merge – to where he currently resided asleep in her bed, Bonnie didn't have to question what she already believed to be true.

"Yes, it is. Like I said before I got a glimpse into the relationship you had with him, and I know you loved him. I know you still felt that way even after the horror he caused which was why the guilt drove you to my Gram's, because she loved him too. I think you've been looking for something or someone all these years to tell you it's okay to feel that way, and the unexpected gift you received came in the form of him in his twenty-two year old form, now fully equipped with the familial connection you were always searching for."

"You Bennett's – wise beyond your years," Jo cracked, her smile turning down at the edges.

"Do you miss him, still?"

"I spent too many years hating him, cursing his name to every dark pagan out there," she confessed, Bonnie fiddling with the Celtic ring with the pad of her thumb.

"Kai broke your heart; you don't have to be dating someone for them to be able to have that power over you. And you were the only one that knew who he really was, I'm sure in the normal sibling way you felt responsible for him." The way Jo snapped her head up to meet her gaze told her she hit it dead on. "I think he thought that way about you too, and tried to make up for it by keeping you in the dark about what was happening with him and your dad. But you know better than anyone – there is no taming that kid, _especially_ back then in his prime of being power hungry and emotionless so he has come a long way since then."

"Hmm."

"I hope you don't mind me asking but why did you decide to tell him where your dad is and go with him?"

"Color me intrigued; the last time I saw Kai before all of this I was metaphorically stabbing him in the back, and the day before that he was physically chasing me around the house with a hunting knife. Since then I've seen him approximately three times and each was varying from the last so I wanted to do a follow up and see if there were any other bizarre or extreme changes."

"And are there?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, my natural assumption was that he'd kill our dad the first chance he got but instead he waited to get invited in – that was substantially out of character. Then there was the whole topic of choice; choosing not to enact the long-awaited revenge that my brother's been going on about for decades if the binding spell was lifted off of you. You've most likely come to this conclusion on your own but Kai's a pretty narcissistic and self-centered person by nature so publicly declaring that he'd do a selfless act _and_ not perform a magical lobotomy on dad in the same sentence was a little hard to believe, to put it mildly. But… shockingly enough, he was pretty convincing."

"I still don't get how, but he must have been for Joshua to tell him he'd consider it. Did Kai tell him that we're together?"

"No, he told me before I agreed to help him but he was adamant on evading it from our father so I got the inkling he didn't want him to know."

"Your dad told me I was his strength before," bubbled out of Bonnie's subconscious, hearing Kai's formal voice trickle through, "when he possessed him he said he couldn't kill Kai because he was holding onto me as a source of energy to fight off the Gemini leader."

"Really?" Jo questioned an octave higher than usual.

"Yeah, why, isn't that a good thing?"

"That Kai has someone in his corner that authentically cares for him, yes. But if I know the inner workings of that delinquents mind he knows our dad will use whatever or whoever is closest to him against him, which in actuality makes you his weakness."

"What – no, he already tested out that theory when he kidnapped me and made Kai choose; me or the power. That's his real weakness."

" _Wanting_ the power, but now he has it," she reasoned biting into the crust.

"So what, then that's checked off the least? Then I think _losing_ it would take its place."

"He seems pretty afraid of losing something," Jo said ominously, leaning forward. "Did Kai say anything else about what they talked about?"

"Like what?"

"You know, just… anything."

"No?" Bonnie responded unsurely, thinking back to him telling her she was more important to him than the grudge he holds against his father. "What else did they say?"

"Oh they went on for a little bit talking about a lot so I figured he had filled you in with vivid detail."

"Oh, no," she grinned cheeks flushed remembering what they had just gotten finished with beforehand. "I had just woken up so he gave me the _Cliff Notes_ version."

"You'll have to get the full scoop soon, it was pretty riveting stuff," Jo said lightly but she could sense the weight of importance in her suggestion.

"I'm more interested in seeing what the outcome of that day will bring, not so much on the particulars," Bonnie said honestly, Kai's twin's expression inscrutable as she peered back, "but I'll keep that in mind."

"I like you Bonnie, I've been hearing chatter about you for months now – between finding out a Bennett witch made her way into Kai's dungeon, and Elena talking up how special her best friend is – but I haven't had the chance to sit down and talk to you myself since you've been back. I've had my doubts to be completely truthful, I know Kai's a master manipulator with his charm but you were still able to see through it. You aren't at all what I expected, and Alaric had assured me you were the one for the job when it came down to any supernatural dilemma so I'm happy to admit that I was wrong in my initial judgment of suspecting you wouldn't be able to handle him, and I apologize."

"How did you expect me to be?"

"I had no idea but I know every trick Kai has in the book, I've seen young girls fall under his spell and that's when he wasn't aiming to work someone over for his benefit. I was just praying you weren't like Gabriela who was too infatuated to see what's in front of her of who he really was and let him roam free because of it."

"Well I wasn't too blind to spot the sociopath lurking in a world of his own, but letting myself get to know him better _was_ the reason I ended up deciding to bring him with me even before your dad interfered."

"That's what I mean, your instincts and intuition were right about him from the start. Ric told me about the escapades you, Kai, and Damon had while you were there and the last thing he saw before getting thrown back into the real world. I figured if Kai still managed to get out of there it would have either been by force, or that you wouldn't have made the trip back," Jo put it simply, the beat of silence stretching on as Bonnie tugged her hands back to fiddle with the ring, "but neither of those tactics came about. Then the first time I saw my brother at the hospital you ran in yelling at Damon to leave him alone and I could see how genuine it was and I knew I had miscalculated. I'm sorry for poking and prodding at your brain over lunch – it's kind of my thing, the natural doctor in me I guess, but I wanted to get a better sense of you, and him, and see if it's real."

"If what's real?"

"If the merge really did change him into another… better, version of himself like our dad always said it would; fusing the souls into one and all that. Lucas was such a gentle and kind-hearted soul who put everyone else first and was brimmed to the top with compassion, he really was Kai's polar opposite," Jo quipped letting out a dreary sound of amusement.

"If it means anything, I can see those traits in Kai now too," Bonnie mentioned trying to ease his sister's mind as she reflected on his metamorphosis. "He's much more calm and expressive about what's on his mind and what he feels, and he really does have a kind heart. I've witnessed him go out of his way to help me, my friends… you; I doubt anyone goes before ' _his number one'_ but at least he's not the only one on the list. I don't know if I could use ' _gentle_ ' to describe him but he does seem to have a softer and sweeter side to him that he's been open about everything with me. And I know it's hard to believe but… I've seen the empathy, and I know it's there because I can see the confusion and fear in his eyes when he feels it. I can't imagine having to go through losing so many siblings the way that you did, and I don't even know if this will ease your mind or make things worse but I just want you to know Lucas' vibrant personality is still very much alive and evolving."

If there was one thing Bonnie could say that the twins have in common is their impeccable way of masking their emotions to appear impassive in subject matter that she knows with conviction cuts deep leaving a scorching mark behind in its wake, still fresh in both of their minds. The only fragment of a reaction Jo let slip was when her gaze dropped to the plate and the corners of her mouth went down with it, letting whatever numbing thought pass through before steering her attention back into the present.

"Thank you. What do you say we get out of here? My lunch hour's just about up."

"Oh right," Bonnie let out with a light laugh, "I almost forgot we were on a time crunch, that went by pretty quickly."

"I'll say, I could use three more of these before going back," Jo simpered, collectively gathering their things and throwing out the trash as they headed to the car for a quick ride back to Whitmore Hospital's parking lot. "I'm glad we got to talk Bonnie, I've had a lot of doubts these past few months and I think this has helped me process and maybe even appease some of them."

"I was hoping I would get the opportunity to run into you soon too. I know that there's been too much bloodshed for you to open back up that part of you that still cares for Kai but I've gone through a fairly thorough investigation into his mind's eye and you stand out above everyone else in his heart, even after all of these years. He didn't believe he was capable of feeling anything real for anyone, but you are the closest thing he's ever felt to loving someone."

The smile that appeared on Jo's face was small and soft and a flash of ease passed through her identically captivating irises; a subtle look that expressed reassurance that would go over most people's heads, if Bonnie hadn't witnessed it through someone with similar features.

"I don't know how true that holds up to be anymore," Jo stated locking eyes and Bonnie's mind fluttered back to the day she betrayed him.

"Oh it's still there, I can tell," she assured curving up the corner of her mouth, "Kai's been trapped in a physical manifestation of his past hell-bent on retribution for so long, but since the merge –as cliché as it sounds, he's seemed to have turned over a new leaf and is looking ahead to see if he can make some type of future in this world."

"Well he seems to already be making his mark… typical," Jo threw out rolling her eyes back and looking up the roof of the car with a short laugh.

"Yeah he's resilient that way," Bonnie agreed unbuckling her seatbelt and meeting her around the other side where her car was parked. "And now that I'm aware that you know exactly where Gram's house is you have an open invitation to come by anytime you like."

"Thanks Bonnie, you know I think Sheila would have a field day knowing little devious Kai Parker was making himself comfortable in her home with her grandbaby."

"It's not… yeah I've thought about that too," she admitted going over all of the antics that's happened since her ' _no sex clause in the house'_ was broken, clamping down on her bottom lip.

"Good thing she was one of the few that didn't mind his company," Jo mentioned bringing forth the flood of conversations her and Kai have had over the two's relationship when he was a teenager, "which means she would probably kill him and bring him back just the one time."

"Oh that's a soothing thought," Bonnie joked hoisting her bag over her shoulder, saying their final goodbye's before heading back home.

Stepping through the front door Kai's angry spews sliced through the air shooting her heart into her throat; swinging around the corner to him sitting cross-legged on the couch in his sweats and a wife beater, yelling at the TV with a controller in hand. Cutting her line of view to the screen Bonnie watched his camera line dart around a scene that looked like an Afghanistan warzone, ducking behind blown up cars and piles of rubble and running through deserted and rundown buildings. The current predicament that had him riled up was the swarm of attackers coming at him from all angles, cornering him in the top corner of the house with nowhere to go.

"Damn it," Kai huffed under his breath.

"No escape," Bonnie summed up just as he dove out the second story window doing a tuck and roll in the middle of the street and hightailing it behind at armored truck, turning the gun on them and picking them off through the open frame.

"There's always a way out," he opposed, making it down and around the corner before a sniper took him out, "just as there's always someone lurking in the shadows."

"How philosophical," she said in an overly dazzled tone sitting beside him and tucking her legs on the opposite side, "where did you get the game?"

"Same place I bought the Xbox; Target," Kai grinned cheerily turning his attention on her and leaning in a fraction. "Hi."

"Hi."

"You're back soon."

"Yeah it was not what I expected," Bonnie said with a single nod, nibbling at the corner of her bottom lip. "By the time I got there Elena had gotten pulled into some emergency situation but – what do you know, your sister was just leaving to go get something to eat."

"Josette?" he said drawing in his eyebrows. "You asked her out to lunch?"

"She asked me, and truth be told it wasn't nearly as harrowing as I thought it would be."

"What'd you talk about?"

"You," she said with a sweet smile and crinkled her nose, grabbing hold of his arms to steady herself as he lifted her from the hips plopping her into his crossed legs with hers hanging over one side.

"Ooh my favorite topic, go on."

"Oh she was just curious to see if you were still the same overconfident sarcastic hooligan from way back when, I reassured her your sass is still fully intact," Bonnie commented making his smile flash wide, looking into the same blue eyes, "she was… sweet, nicer than I thought she would be."

"She has no reason not to be to you."

"Well that's not necessarily true – I did break her brother out of an eternal prison which _may_ have had an effect on her, you know with that whole merge business being unsettled which endangers her life. But other than that, no, except for the fact that I am now dating you too."

"If anything that should send a burst of dopamine into that overworked brain, settle her down a little."

"What can I say, you make girls a little crazy," Bonnie concluded patting his chest lightly, "but she just wanted to know more about you. See how 1994 was, how we are, check in on how you've been since you barged into her house all sickly and she gave you her powers. She really did seem sincere and open-minded to what I was saying."

"My girlfriend and my sister are gossiping about me," Kai remarked, chuckling at his own words, "I feel like I'm in high school."

"Close, college," she teased in a blasé tone, pushing away with a quick giggle feeling his fingers wiggle around her ribs.

"Yeah, I just deferred for a couple years longer than most other kids."

Running a hand unhurriedly up the side of his neck to the back of his jaw Bonnie stared into the clear and unguarded eyes of someone she's spent every day with for almost an entire year, the contrastive way she sees him still bringing forth a physical reaction fluctuating between internal and external. During this encounter the swelling in her ribcage was making it difficult to breathe; the way Kai was looking at her triggering the same expression Jo had when Bonnie had asked if she still missed her twin.

"Jo still cares about you," she said softly and he cocked his head to the side raising his eyebrows, looking amused. "I asked her – and she does, I can tell."

"You're adorable, Bon."

"I'm _serious_. The main thing she was trying to find out was how much of the brother she remembers was still here and what aspects of you had changed, if they even had. And being a person who's spent so much time around you recently she put a lot of faith in my answers which may have come across slightly biased, but I can live with that."

"Why does it matter what she thinks of me now?" Kai inquired searching her eyes in a way that showed that he really didn't know why Bonnie would care, sliding both hands behind him to lean in closer to point out that she wasn't trying to shield her face.

"Because _she_ matters to _you_ and was the most positive influence in your life so it's too good to pass up. Plus Jo's a doctor now and with your track record you're going to need someone like her around because you can't always rely on magic to patch you up."

"Technically she is a doctor who has supernatural powers which on paper makes her the equivalent to the original fabled witch."

"Even better," Bonnie concurred, noting that Kai didn't deny the first half of her statement, "so try to make more of an effort to be in her life again."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Okay," she uttered kissing his cheek and pushed herself over to the other side of the couch scooping up the extra controller on the coffee table. Settling in beside him Bonnie switched out of his current checkpoint in Call of Duty and switched it to two-player, bumping up against his bicep with a troublesome grin. "You've been living in a whole other era when it comes to gaming for too long, grasshopper; let's see if you can keep up."


	37. Chapter 37

Bonnie and Kai sat at the top of Elena's bed with her stretched out across the end as Caroline paced around the spacious dorm room throwing out a variety of outfits to choose from on top of them, burying their friend under the rubble.

"Suffocate me why don't you," Elena huffed underneath a leather jacket.

"Well if you were helping me find something to wear instead of all being lazy mopes then you wouldn't run that risk. Besides, we're vampires… that's kind of something we don't have to worry about anymore," Care opposed and dropped a pile of scarves on her stomach.

"What would you wear to a karaoke night?" Bonnie wondered looking left to their open double-doored closet.

"It's not just a ' _karaoke night_ ,' Whitmore does this charity event for the hospital every year and they go all out with it. There's music competitions, duets, challenges, regular karaoke singing but there's a real band that plays and they usually raise a ton of money, I think there's even some dance battles too. They always switch up the venue and by the luck of the draw it's at Mystic Grill, the spot where all sorts of the major events in our lives seem to take place. So to answer your question Bon, I would say an _edgy, sexy, 'I'm the best singer here_ ' kind of outfit would work perfectly for tonight and thanks to my extreme wardrobe upgrade when I took a break from my humanity just about everything I own gives off that appeal."

Pulling the jacket off her face Elena checked her surroundings noticing an outfit was tossed around and scooped up the purple cami and black jeans. "Is this what I'm wearing?"

"Yes dear," Caroline replied in a motherly tone, handing off a pair of four inch black velvet heeled boots with army style laces going up a few inches above her heel, "these too. And then these are for you."

Turning her attention to Bonnie a black tank top fluttered into her lap, the material light and loose and looking naturally wrinkled or scrunched up. The leather pants looked skin tight and the designs were unlike anything she's seen before; one leg having a few thick strips of a black'ish silver mix on her thigh and shin and the other had metallic onyx spikes all around from her hip to lower thigh that felt like the rubber jelly spikes they used to make craft jewelry with during sleepovers as kids. A light blue faded washed out jean jacket with splotches of bleach looking like it was plucked from a 90's thrift store was added to the top of the pile, finished with a pair of black heeled leather boots that went up to the knee with two buckles near the foot and up at the top. Looking over her clothes compared to her friends Bonnie's eyebrows drew in and mouth opened holding an item in each hand like they were foreign objects.

"Why does Elena get a regular purple spaghetti strap and jeans and I am over here in a jean jacket and crazy leather pants from the eighties?"

"Because Elena could never pull this off," Care stated as if it was obvious, Kai's snicker making her smile hearing their friends noise of disagreement, "but she _can_ work the style of leather jackets, tight little shirts, and high heels just as well as Katherine, maybe even better."

"Totally agree, on the first part I mean, I didn't actually know Katherine but I get sadder every time I hear a new piece of information about her."

"She was a selfish, self-centered, conniving psychopath who thought she could have it all."

"Guess it's a good thing we never met, you might have some competition," he leered leaning in close to her side and grunted out an ' _ooph'_ that turned into a slap at the back of her hand thwacking his stomach, tugging Bonnie close to nuzzle into her.

"Don't worry Bon; she would have to be _your_ doppelganger before I looked twice."

The blush bloomed deep under her cheeks warming Bonnie's entire face and trained her eyes on the clothes in her lap purposely avoiding everyone's third degree. Tilting her head to the side just enough to catch Kai's gaze the small smile that spread seemed so open making him look even younger and leaned into him briefly touching noses, her chest aching at the little hum of joy he made.

"Can we dress you up to fit the part too?"

"What do you mean – I am dressed," Kai countered stretching his arms out wide showing off his white t-shirt under an open black cardigan with material so thin you could see the shirt through it. He wore the same pair of gray jeans that she's oddly fascinated with and has personally taken off of him, finished with his boots and chain with pendant dangling in the center of his chest. "And I look good, too."

"I think you should let other people tell you that," Bonnie said sweetly patting his leg, looking him over with an internal consensus.

"I don't hear anyone correcting me," he commented with a shrug, nauseated with herself that she couldn't lie and insult an ensemble that was making her feel something a little farther south on the spectrum.

"You could have put a little more effort into it," Elena suggested with a quick scan down his torso, "that's something you usually wear."

"Yeah but I have this," Kai said grabbing the fedora off the bedside table resting it on his head cocked to the side, "classy's me up, don't you think?"

"Nope," she chirped and scooted off the bed heading over to her dresser.

"Can always count on you to keep it real with me."

"You can be sure of that," she tossed over her shoulder and he tittered rubbing down Bonnie's thigh to knee.

"We'll I'll let you ladies get all dressed to impress – can't wait to see how those pants look on you. Meet you at the car."

"Okay let's do this," Care announced as soon as the door clicked shut pulling the dress over her head and tossed it aside, sliding on a pair of faded dark blue jeans.

The spaghetti strap top was designed like a corset with a tight bodice and buttons up the center with a white and navy blue checkered pattern to it, navy flaps curving the tops of her breasts. The floppy black leather boots came up about six inches and reminded Bonnie of cowboy boots, her tousled curls and light shimmery eye and lip makeup matching the style. Clasping the chain a sapphire teardrop fell in just the right spot and stuck two diamond studs in her ears, looking back to Bonnie in befuddlement that she still hadn't moved.

Pushing to her feet she changed right where she was standing as Elena did the same on the other side of the room, putting on the shirt first since it was the easier of the two options before moving onto the pants. Jumping to slide them up her thighs and over her butt the loose material of her shirt hung low covering her front and half of her butt, turning and sliding her hand up her thigh seeing her reflection on the other side of the room. When she was holding it the skin-tight leather looked like it wasn't going to fit and if it did then they'd look ridiculous, but Bonnie couldn't believe how non-laughable they looked on her. Pushing her arms through the half sleeves of the jean jacket she folded the ends to just below her elbows and struggled to get her feet into the knee-high heels, standing tall with a few inches of height.

"Yeah you were right that wouldn't have worked on me," Elena snorted tying the last of the laces, "I don't know why you don't wear more things like that."

"Seriously, you can totally get away with it. But there's still something missing, I just don't know what." Murmuring to herself Caroline rummaged through her jewelry grabbing a necklace and clasping it behind her neck, the front splitting into two uneven strands with silver arrowheads at the bottom resting in the open space. "Better, but still not it."

Bonnie looked over to her profile of dark eye makeup making her irises stand out, straight hair framing her face and down her outfit catching the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower dangling from the bracelet on her left wrist. "I think this is as good as it's going to get."

Elena scoffed out an ugly sound and shook her head whipping her hair over her shoulder. "Do you let the guy who likes you hear you talk down about yourself like that?"

"Oh, please," Bonnie said through her amusement rolling her eyes back, "I was talking about the outfit."

"Mhm," she hummed unconvinced.

"We should let Kai's reaction be the judge of that," Care declared hoisting her purse onto her shoulder, "ready?"

Falling into step the three headed out of the building into the back parking lot where Kai sat on the hood of his car, fiddling with his phone. The clicking of heels indicated their arrival and lifted his head in the direction of the sound, looking up to the sky and letting out a long whistle before hopping to his feet.

"Am I old enough to have a heart attack? I guess I'd have to specify if I'm talking outside appearance or my internal dog years but I should still have a few more decades left in me before the ticker gives out."

"Well with a vocabulary like _that_ ," Elena said casually as she passed them walking to the passenger side.

"You know Caroline dressed you in eighties clothes to drive me nuts, right?" Kai said knowingly and Bonnie's eyes bulged looking down at the jean jacket, leather pants, and sliced her line of view to her best friend who was failing to hide her grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but the look still isn't complete."

Cocking his head to the side Kai looked her over from the ground up and snapped his fingers, plucking the fedora off of his head and sticking it on hers. " _Voila."_

"Kai-" she said with a small shake, lifting her hand to take off the hat.

"Wait, I think he might be onto something. Mess around with it a little, see how you like it."

Figuring it was easy to just get it over with rather than argue and still have to do it anyway Bonnie fit the hat on the back of her skull where she'd keep it comfortably and moved her hands around her brim, posing for added effect. Lifting the hat to the side of her head her smile flashed wide seeing the look of delight on Kai's face and made the final pose with the way he generally wears it tilting it a hair off to the side.

"What do you think; your missing puzzle piece?"

"It really is," Caroline beamed enthusiastically, "who knew you'd be able to have a good sense of style after all this time."

"I know I think about that all the time too," Kai said nodding furiously with big eyes like he was overly absorbed in the topic, "it's gotten me through some dark days."

"Well now you have something even better to help with that," she commented and bypassed the two of them getting in the backseat from the driver's side.

"Your friend's right about that," he murmured and pulled her in by the open flaps of the jacket, the heels only bringing her eye-line to his nose compared to his chin. Ducking his head Bonnie felt a flutter at the fleeting touch of his lips against hers and pushed away from him lightly when he tapped the rim pushing the hat down cutting off her vision. "And you look stunning; of course I'm a little biased now since I'm hung up on you wearing my stuff."

"I'm also wearing Care's clothes."

"Ooh, even better," Kai lured in an overly seductive tone as he walked backwards slowly to her side of the car and opened the passenger door, "hop in, wild child."

Clicking over with a smirk Bonnie slid into the seat and fiddled with the radio as Kai settled in beside her. The drive to Mystic Grill took less than twenty minutes but looking for parking once they got there took almost the same amount of time, Kai getting fed up after so long and wiped the _Handicapped_ sign from one of the front spots, pulling into its place.

" _Kai, you can't do that."_

"What, I doubt any little old ladies are going to be showing up tonight ready to rock N' roll. And if they do, I'll move."

"Tough to argue with that," Care cracked up with Elena snickering behind them.

"You're a bad influence, and you two shouldn't be encouraging him," Bonnie stated pointing a finger at all of them before stepping outside and heading for the front door with them close behind.

If the cars were an indication to how many people were jammed packed into the _Grill_ than they still didn't do it justice, not even able to make it through the entrance before colliding into someone in stopped traffic. A girl's voice rang through the speakers and looked overhead to tiny twinkling lights spread out across the ceiling and down the banisters. Students dressed in _Pledge_ shirts were bustling around holding deep baskets filled with money and both college kids and adults were filling up the compacted area. Everything that wasn't bolted down to the floor was moved to create more space lining the small tables and chairs along the perimeter.

There was a stage set up on her left with a live band and zealous crowd less than a foot away and they converted another spot farther into the room off to the right into a karaoke alcove. Having to go up a few steps to walk into the hexagon-shaped stage the side facing outwards was blocked off by solid wooden railings going up to your hips and banisters separating them, giving the illusion like you were standing on a balcony harmonizing to the rest of the world like they do in the musicals. Overhead out of view from the partygoers were screens hooked up to an impressive sound system and a handful of microphone stands lined up in the center. Care wasn't kidding, they stepped it up in college.

"Want a drink?" sounded from behind her and looked over her shoulder to Kai leaning in close.

"Sure."

Raising his arms for the girls to take the lead Elena led them over to the bar on the other side of the room and waved over the bartender, a very familiar face turning to greet them.

"Hey, Bonnie."

"Matt," she perked and scooted around to the open swinging door meeting him for a long hug. "How are you?"

"How are _you?_ I've barely gotten to see you since you came back. How has everything been going?"

"Pretty good, as a matter of fact," Bonnie stated to her own surprise, "happy to be home."

"And we're all happy you're home safe," Matt said sincerely warming her heart and leaned in again for another quick embrace. "I had to work tonight for the extra cash but I didn't expect to see you all."

"It's _Karaoke Night,_ where else would we be?" Elena said as if he was crazy for saying such a thing.

"Maybe at the hospital, hard at work," Matt threw out and Elena batted a hand at the suggestion.

"Tonight is going to consist of drinking heavily and singing loudly, hopefully not too far off-key."

"I don't know how much the liquor will help with that factor, but I can be of assistance with supplying it."

Ordering their first round of drinks Kai also put in for a lineup of shots and handed Matt his card to start a tab getting two scotches on the rocks, throwing back the first in one gulp before starting in on the next. With a cheers to a ' _kick ass night'_ they tossed back the mouthful of liquid and moved through the crowd, staying close as they weaved around the building and nearly mowed down someone who has become increasingly recognizable over the past month.

"Parker! What's up man, did you just get here?" Evan hollered slapping hands in the usual male-greeting fashion.

"Yeah if I had known the entire town was here I may have pushed it a little longer," Kai noted and he said something in agreement, looking over to the rest of them.

"Hey ladies, ready to belt your little hearts out this evening?"

"Not unless you want everyone to leave and take their money with them," Elena opposed, "but fortunately I brought a couple of aces in the hole with me."

"You're out of your mind if you don't think you're getting up on that stage at least half a dozen times," Caroline said sternly with a clank of their glasses, "so drink up and get ready for some great memories."

"Come to think of it – I've never heard you sing before," Kai remarked turning his focus on Bonnie with brows drawn in.

"Really? She's _amazing_."

"No – _Caroline_ is the singer of the group."

"Bonnie's the dancer," Elena concluded.

"Our little Bon-Bon is both," Care interjected with her palm out mid-air for emphasis, "if she would commit to either than her future career would already be waiting for her. You've been with her for _how long_ and you haven't heard that beautiful voice?"

"I didn't notice how out of place that is until this instant. You even complimented me when I was carrying along a tune back in _alternate-Mystic Falls;_ you've been keeping this secret weapon to yourself the whole time?"

"What a time for it to make its grand appearance," Elena joined in gesturing towards the karaoke stage to their left where Emma and Anna were serenading each other to a slow song. "You can go next."

"Wow you really must be out of your mind tonight because that _is not happening._ Will I get up there at one point and sing something for charity – for sick people in need? Of course. Will I be first? Not even if you were paying _me._ "

"What if we did one together? But something with a little more pizazz than this. And preferably something that pre-dates this generation since it would be my first time hearing them."

It never fails to put a smile on Bonnie's face whenever the kinks in Kai's almighty and superior armor show through and she remembers no matter how invincible he portrays himself as he's still new to the world she's grown up in; the technology, the current events, and keeping up with the constant that is _change_.

"Well as it just so happens I love music from other decades. Gram's and I had a particular love for anyone that was affiliated with _Motown Records;_ The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye… I grew up listening to those artists. But I also have a passion for some 90s R &B."

"Ah the end of my time," he said fondly standing tall with his fists on his hips like he was Superman, "great toons, although my favorite has to be the eighties – and the sixties; _I like that old time of Rock N' Roll."_

The rasp in his voice as he sang the last sentence shot straight down to her toes and hummed at the tingle; the notches beginning to click into place that not only will she be hitting the stage but so will Kai who hasn't exactly been branded as the ' _shy kid_ ' in class, and from what little she's heard has a voice that is by no means mediocre.

"At least I know the type of genre you'll be going for now."

"Oh… you have no idea," he let out with an overdrawn laugh, the only one in on the joke. "But you don't want me going first; I'll set the bar too high."

"There's that flare up of presumptuousness again, there's a lot of strong contenders in here vying for the belt."

"Oh yeah? Well _Hulkamania is running wild, brother!"_ Kai cheered with overemphasis, eyes widening and jaw unhinging the longer the silence stretched on. " _Nobody –_ really? Hulk Hogan… greatest wrestler of the 1980's and most likely still to this day…"

"Oh, and _can you smell what The Rock is cookin'?"_ Evan challenged lifting a brow as high as up his forehead as it would go.

"Is it a can of whoop ass?" Bonnie chimed in channeling her inner child loving Stone Cold Steve Austin, Evan making a booming sound of ' _oooooh'_ over her answer and pulled her in.

"That was _the best response_ and the leader over here doesn't even get the reference, that's gold."

"They've still got nothing on Mr. America," Kai rebuffed with a flick of his face in the opposite direction, the applause around them indicating the end of the girls' performance and Evan raised his hand to show them where he was standing.

"Hey!" Emma welcomed emerging into their little circle, alone. "It's so much fun up there!"

"You powned her babe, did AnnaLynne have to leave in shame?"

"I'm pretty sure I heard her say something about going to the bathroom," she said in nonchalance, Bonnie examining her look over to Kai who was scanning the room, "she should be back."

A girl and guy that looked like the fraternity and sorority leaders hit the stage as the double doors opened and Stefan and Damon strolled through heading straight for them.

"You made it," Care beamed stepping into Stefan's open arm kissing him slowly, "and you brought your wicked other half."

"Couldn't miss out on a music festival," Damon winked swiping the drink out of her hand and finishing it, "thanks blondie. Hey Elena."

"Hi," she uttered with a bashful leer.

"Bonster."

"Hey Damon, I was wondering when the sounds of out of tune karaoke would make its way through your supersonic hearing."

"Have any of you gone up yet?"

"No."

"Then I'd say I made it right on time."

"How's everybody feeling tonight?!" The frat guy howled erupting the herd, "you are all so great and the energy in here is contagious – I can feel the love! My name is Connor and this is Wendy and we're going to be coming up here throughout the night to give you the same play-by-play of the events we have set up in case there are any new arrivals that didn't hear us before or if you just needed that little bit of liquid courage to give you the extra kick in the ass first."

Connor paused for a beat while people snickered and Wendy picked up where he left off. "Just a reminder we're raising money for Whitmore Medical, and you all have already shown how passionate and committed you are to the cause. We've come up with some different games and competitions for not only the students to participate in but also for everyone who's taken the time to come out and enjoy the night with us. Okay so how this is going to work is the two of us have clipboards with a signup list for each event and you can put your name down as many times as you like, then when we get to that activity we'll have pledges walking around with the donation baskets if you like what you hear. Since classic karaoke is so popular we're going to have people going up in between every other performance to constantly keep things flowing and upbeat. For example the first competition we're going to start is from a game that just aired on ABC last year, _The Voice_ , and the object of it is to have four judges who will be picked randomly from the audience with their backs facing the singer hit their button and ' _choose you'_ which in this case would mean enjoying the students rendition enough to give a donation. If all four judges hit their buzzer then you move onto the next round and face off against one another. In between each musical number the karaoke stage will be open to anyone who wants to go up for fun without any pressure, and this will continue on until the next game starts."

"Just to give you a taste of what's ahead; there's _The Voice_ , Lip Sync Battles, and what we call ' _The Riff-off'_ for Acapella groups where they get together and come up with songs on the spot based off a category that we choose from a spin of the wheel. I don't know about all of you but I'm excited, and I want to implore all of you to cut back and relax and just have a good time, it's all for a good cause."

"Another cool thing about this next event is that anyone who wants to participate _can_ , whether it being center stage or behind the curtains picking you favorites. Once the ' _blind auditions'_ are complete we'll write down everyone who made it and pass out score sheets that will be setup like…"

"Like a _March Madness Bracket_ for anyone who's ever played the basketball tournament," Connor explained to make it clearer and the murmurs of comprehension indicated it worked. "It's a set price for the bracket and then you can put whatever anti your heart desires on your favorite. And to ensure there's no way of cheating the contestants won't be able to join in on the gambling, just be the willing horse for us to bet on. Once we move onto the battles you all will make the final decision for who moves on and it'll continue that way until we crown a winner as the _USC: Ultimate Singing Champion._ "

"So let's get started! The first one up is Jordan Minks, and let's pick out some judges."

"Oh we're so doing this," Kai assured raising his hand in a pen-writing motion to Wendy who bee-lined it for them, Caroline bouncing on the balls of her feet squealing beside him.

"I was struggling to come to terms with the idea of me going on stage in general but now you want me to get into some contest where people are _literally_ judging you and if you suck than you get booed out of town? No."

"If you can sing as well as you just dramatized that response than you should have no problem," he replied thanking the girl handing off the list.

"Bon-Bon's like a little witchified Tina Turner," Damon agreed with a smirk earning a glare from Kai.

"Even ' _it's all about me'_ has heard you? Oh no, this just won't do. I'm writing your name down."

" _No-"_ Bonnie hissed reaching for the clipboard that he held over head out of reach scribbling across a line.

"It's for your own good – or maybe it's mine, I still have a tough time differentiating sometimes. And let me just write down a few more and… there, we're all on it. Well most of us, sorry Salvatore's you didn't quite make the cut looks like you're going to have to bet on us instead. Ten bucks says I know who you're both picking as the winner."

"Ten bucks? What a cheapskate," Care said lifting a palm to her chest. "And here I thought _money bags_ would bring a little bit more to the table."

"Do I hear the makings of an _in-house wager?_ I should warn you I'm final five material no matter what the contest may be."

"So you're picking yourself, how conventional of you. Then I choose –"

"Well let's not pull the starting trigger just yet Miss eager beaver, I just said I'm capable of making it to last looks that doesn't mean I'm putting all of my bags of cash in my basket."

"Then whose?" was vocalized and Bonnie felt her throat closing sensing the shift, willing herself to be wrong.

"Bonnie."

"Are you nuts, you haven't even heard me before – I could be awful. You're just going off what others are telling you; that is not like you."

"Yeah but it's your best friends saying it so… I think I'm going with it."

"But-"

"Okay if you stole Bonnie as the USC, then I'm going to say," Care held the last note for dramatic effect, "you."

"Me?"

"Oh are someone's nerves starting to rattle now that the heat is on and there's pressure to live up to your extraordinary persona?"

"Mm thank you," Kai remarked smoothly giving her one of his best smiles, able to appreciate the effort it is to put in not to react to him, "but technically Bon's the one over here talking me up."

"' _I come in top five in everything I do'_ ," Bonnie mimicked in a deep voice smiling at the deep laughter coming from his gut, handing off the clipboard to slide his arms around her waist from behind leaning down to draw her in.

"Well that's just true – but I'm still putting my money on you."

"I think my lunch is coming back up," Damon said off the shoulder, cocking her head with a scowl, "maybe a drink will keep it down."

Veering away from the group Bonnie surveyed the scene seeing him head towards the bar hearing the clamor of merriment assuming the contestant got a buzzer or two and turned in that direction hearing another name being called – Jo and Ric strolling towards them bringing her back into focus.

"Kai," she hummed with a squeeze of his hand and his chin lifted from her shoulder scanning around them on alert until he spotted his sister, feeling his muscles unclenching.

"Weird," Jo summed up looking over Bonnie's head with a squint, peering down to their clasped hands resting against her stomach.

"Hey sissy, are you here to do our ballad of _Thriller_? I'm sure the dance moves are still stored away in a special part of my brain for moments like this."

"You are dreaming, I'm here to donate and that is all."

"But what if I got the whole audience into it? I bet everyone over thirty who's sufficiently blitzed by that point would be overjoyed to go back to the glory days for a minute – or seven, that song was pretty stretched out. Sound like a plan?"

"No," she replied without hesitation.

"So you're telling me there's a chance," he pepped noting the smile he must be sporting from his voice.

"I'm going to get a drink," Alaric said dismissing himself before Kai's name was announced over the loudspeaker, the lack of applause spiking Bonnie's fear of no one thinking her voice is enough to hit a buzzer for.

"You know you haven't seen this side of me before Bon, try not to get too star struck, okay? It's still only me up there."

"I'll try to refrain," Bonnie retorted in the most monotonous tone she could muster, a frisson of exhilaration passing through her when he leaned down to kiss her cheek and backing away with his obnoxiously dazzling smile.

"Just between us girls, is he terrible?" Caroline inquired poking her head around to face Jo and she scoffed out a snicker.

"Regrettably… no, he's not. He auditioned for a school play freshman year and went through with it for he and his friend's to laugh about later but the joke was on him when Miss Gleeson chased Kai around for the next four years bribing and bartering him to star in another."

"He was the lead?"

"Mmmmmhm," Jo hummed with pursed lips, staring up at the stage, "only reason he tried out in the first place was because _I_ wanted the part."

"Sibling rivalry," Bonnie commented as if she somehow understood, following her line of vision to Kai facing the band in a discussion, "with a narcissist, how amiable."

'Yeah we could take it to the extreme sometimes."

"Well you got a sociopath to be the leading role in a musical just because you wanted it to, I'd hate to see what _tame_ looks like," Elena mocked.

 _'_ _Kai doesn't know the word'_ Bonnie reflected on internally with a rueful grin, their eyes locking when he faced them and pulled the top of the stand forward leaning into the microphone.

"Alright I would just like to take the opportunity quickly to say – hey – and that this song is _not,_ dedicated to my girlfriend. Here we go."

Before having enough time to wonder what he meant the tune of piano keys playing hit everyone at the precise moment of what song he chose turning his patrons uproarious, belting out the first lyrics.

 _At first I was afraid, I was petrified_

 _Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side_

 _But then I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong_

 _And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along_

Hearing the faint sound of buzzers going off simultaneously Kai pulled the mic free and jumped off the stage weaving through as he serenaded onlookers with _I Will Survive_ by _Aretha Franklin_ ; a choice she never would have guessed he'd go with. Bonnie knew better than to think he could go about doing anything at a normal base level of five like most others, having to outshine with an over the top ten if the situation arose and this certainly qualified as one of them.

By the time he hit the first chorus every other person in the building was either singing along or clapping to the beat but she couldn't take her eyes off of Kai who seemed to be having the time of his life. There was an energy he possessed that was contagious and spread throughout your entire body feeling electrified from within that he could subconsciously push off onto others and the multitude they were engulfed in seemed to be feeding off of it. Closing in he made his way over just after he finished with the second verse, starting back up on the part every soul in the world just _knows_.

 _Oh no, not I – I will survive_

 _Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive_

 _I've got all my life to live_

 _I've got all my love to give_

 _And I'll survive_

 _I will survive - ooh_

Beginning with Caroline Kai moved around the circle reaching for her hand and lifted it spinning her into multiple twirls, Emma getting pulled into half a waltz dance move before getting thrust back into Evan's chest. Jo got a wiggle of the finger and a wink while Elena got tugged into him close with just the mic separating them, Bonnie's smile spreading seeing her expression both startled and slightly fascinated. Saving her for last Kai had just hit the last ' _ooh_ ' note followed by a lengthy pause, using his time not to work any fancy moves on her but hover in close without breaking eye contact instead.

Blinking a few times to gain her composure he was already halfway to the stage by the time Bonnie let out the breath she was holding, unsure if the lightheadedness was from the lack of oxygen or something more provoking. Finishing strong as he jumped on the stage to his original spot the walls were vibrating from the rumbles of enthusiasm reverberating back at them and Kai bowed politely before sauntering over, simper firmly in place. If girls hadn't noticed him already there wasn't a chance she was going to be able to avoid their wandering eyes now that he got the buildings full attention in the matter of one song choice.

" _Aretha Franklin?_ "

"She's my girl," Kai nodded as if it was a totally common reference for him to pick out of anything, "but my _main squeeze_ is about to hit the stage."

"Oh that's so sweet that you'd refer to one of the girls that way because there's no way you could be referring to _me_ getting up there after that performance. My money's on Care."

"Wow, did you catch that jab?" Kai remarked to Elena pointing a finger at Bonnie. "You didn't make the ' _squeezable_ ' category."

"Somehow I think I'll go on," she said with rejoinder, Bonnie's name being called over the loud speakers revving up her adrenaline.

"It's too soon I can't, Elena you're going to have to go up and be me."

"You've got this Bonnie, you're talented and people are going to hit their buttons over it just you wait and see."

"I don't even know what to sing."

"Anything, they'll love it," Kai chortled and strong hands braced her biceps, ducking his head lower. "I showed you mine, you have to show me yours now."

"What are we five years old?"

"If we are then you should have no problem getting up there and letting loose. Go enjoy yourself, Bon."

Puffing out quick exhales through her nose Bonnie finished her drink and then Elena's before forcibly dragging her feet from where they were cemented into the floorboards all the way to the front of the room. There wasn't a song or artist that would stick before fluttering out of her mind as she faced the horde of listeners and judges ready to banish her at the first tuneless note. Gripping the metal rod Bonnie's eyes wouldn't stop scanning through the faceless mass until they landed on someone familiar; Caroline pulling her open palms in towards her chest and up her face with a deep inhale gesturing for her to take a breath.

Shifting Kai's soft expression watching her with a slight tilt of his head alleviated the overwhelming jitters enough for her to be able to think clearly, a personal favorite springing to mind from back when she was a little girl. Pivoting she told the band to play _You Can't Hurry Love_ by _The Supremes_ but with a slowed down soulful vibe to it. Taking her mark Bonnie wrapped her fingers around the mic on the stand and closed her eyes as the lights overhead began to dim, heart pounding as the first beat of the drum sounded.

-x—x—x—

 _I need love, love_

 _To ease my mind_

 _I need to find, find someone to call mine_

 _But mama said_

 _You can't hurry love_

 _No, you just have to wait_

 _She said love don't come easy_

 _It's a game of give and take_

 _You can't hurry love_

 _No, you just have to wait_

 _You got to trust, give it time_

 _No matter how long it takes_

"Shit…"

"I know."

"She's…" Kai fought for the correct adjective to describe what he was hearing right now; both sweet and provocative, gritty yet silky smooth, "I've never heard her sing before, she didn't when we were in '94."

"She probably thought she didn't have a reason to anymore while she was stuck in there," Elena said off to his left, unable to look away from the stage until she spoke again, "I guess now she does."

The sounds of all four buzzers going off one after the next was drowned out by the fervent rowdy bunch that was getting more enthusiastic the farther in Bonnie got, listening to the lyrics of a ballad he used to know all too well from his sister playing it relentlessly.

 _No love, love don't come easy_

 _But I keep on waiting, anticipating_

 _For that soft voice_

 _To talk to me at night_

 _For some tender arms_

 _To hold me tight_

 _I keep waiting, I keep on waiting_

 _But it ain't easy, it ain't easy_

Once Bonnie hit the break her voice dropped a few octaves turning raspy and sexy as she churned out the lyrics, Kai's body reacting and blood pressure rising the slower she crooned. Going in on the final chorus her eyes wandered until they found his, singing the melody to him whether it was deliberate or not and he let that acknowledgment seep in before flare ups of paranoia started to arise.

Could Bonnie know how he really feels about her and this was her way of subliminally telling him? But how could she, when he just found out himself at an embarrassingly recent time of disclosure. Maybe this is her saying she could or could not feel that way about him too but that they shouldn't rush things, so he shouldn't tell her yet, or else he might scare her off.

Running a hand through his hair and yanking at the roots Kai prayed that whatever babbling, high-strung, emotionally crippled mess he's turned into over the past few months is a temporary phase from adjusting to the civilized life and not a long-lasting effect that all common folk have to endure. Even more concerning, the aloofness only got to him when he was with Bonnie and has gotten increasingly more unbearable the farther attached he became leading Kai to believe it's not just a ' _humanly'_ trait to feel like every part of your insides are being shaken around, but more specifically fueled by what he feels for _her._

Finishing strong on the last note her new fans went nuts and almost whisked her away from all of the pent up energy stirring around. Throwing his hands overhead and cupping his mouth Kai hollered out ridiculous sounds from high-pitched to low dog-like ' _hoots'_ , Bonnie's smile stretched wide squeezing through people to get back to them.

"Would you cut it out," she pleaded through a laugh, "I could hear you from across the room."

"Good, that was my intention," he winked and pulled her in close nudging the top of the fedora up, "and _that_ was very impressive. You've really been holding out on me."

"Well I wouldn't be a true Bennett if I didn't have some secrets of my own," Bonnie quipped and he searched her eyes in hopes of prying some free. "I need more shots."

"Shots! Shots! Shots!" Elena and Caroline sing-songed and linked their arms on either side of hers being pulled out of his grasp.

"I say we start with the classic tequila shots – Matt better be lining up those limes as right now – and then take another, just for that extra kick of courage."

Following in step with the group Emma ended up beside him and looked her over before glancing briefly around the room. "So where's Anna?"

"She's… around, you know, mingling," she uttered vaguely, avoiding his stare, "probably bumped into Michael and Cody."

"Yeah I thought I saw them when I was making my rounds but I don't recall seeing her. Is she avoiding me?"

"Well she's not going out of her way to see you, she's kind of –"

"Pissed, I know."

"Embarrassed," Emma finished puffing out a peculiar sound with a raise of her hand, "but yeah pissed off too."

"I wasn't – I didn't know where her head was at, she's-"

"If you say Ashley's baby sister I'll kill you," she threatened and by the look he was receiving Kai knew she had heard it from Anna one too many times, snickering that that's the one thing she seems the most hung up on.

"But she _is,_ and Ash was my best friend, and certainly the oldest one I've got so I couldn't jeopardize that after everything that's gone down. But it's a moot point anyway because as Anna found out in a way of just horrendous timing I'm with Bon."

"I assume how you must feel about your girlfriend and longtime friend but, do you care about AnnaLynne too? I won't tell her what you say so you can be honest with me."

"I do, of course," he remarked knitting his brows, knowing he'd feel bad if anything were to happen to her and had almost a _brotherly_ obligation to her. "Just not the way she wants me to."

"Alright everybody line up and pick your poison!" Caroline required holding up a salt shaker. "And don't forget this special ingredient."

Drifting to the bar Kai settled in beside Bonnie and leaned down licking the space between her thumb and index finger for the salt so stick to.

" _Yech."_

"Oh do you not like me licking you, or putting your tongue where mine just was?" he pondered with a pensive expression. "Because I can stop doing those if you want."

"Yeah right," she snorted sounding like she genuinely did not believe a word coming out of his mouth.

"You want to bet?" Kai pressed puffing his chest out and leaning in closer, glancing up at him through the angle of the fedora and leaned off the counter meeting his dominating stance.

" _Do you?"_

Peering back at Bonnie's daring move he hadn't realized he was smiling until she was rolling her eyes at his expression and shook the salt on her hand handing it off to him. Clanking their glasses together all of them including Damon and Ric tilted their head back letting the burning liquid slide down, finishing it off with the cut limes placed on napkins all down the bar.

"Another," Elena said thumping her palm off the counter, surprised at her partying spirit.

"And keep 'em coming," Caroline confirmed sliding one of the filled glasses to the bartender, "that one's for you."

"Thanks but I can't, got to stay sharp," the nameless guy voiced, smirking at the lift of her shoulder and tossing back the drink like it was water.

"Suit yourself; alright let's line up another round."

"Care – not your money," Bonnie reminded her and she cackled looking over her head to Kai.

"I'm sorry did you want not another drink? Can you not afford it? Or are we just going by your lead?"

"Do whatever you want," he remarked lifting the tiny glass to her, "I'm just here for the booze and karaoke."

"Now there's a toast," she beamed and raised hers as well, the rest following suite as Elena's name was called through the speakers and cracked up watching her almost spit the drink back out.

"Oh God… not now, it's too soon. You put my name down?"

"Duh, was I not supposed to?"

" _No,_ leave the caroling to the gifted ones."

"Elena this is for _the hospital,_ " Bonnie stressed.

" _Sick people;_ you're really going to pass up an opportunity to make money and come to their aid?"

"I hate the both of you so much," she growled at her two friends and stormed away from the bar, onlookers visibly parting from most likely seeing the steam coming off of her.

Elena's choice was something from this era that he hasn't heard before and couldn't control the racket of hilarity that she wasn't downplaying her skills – or lack of – just because of how great her friends are, or at least Bonnie from what he's heard so far. It was an overall success though as she still managed to turn two chairs and more or less sprinted back to where they were, filling up a larger drinking vessel to quench her thirst.

"You don't have to do another round!

"Thank the Lord," she said and deflated on top of the glossy work surface. "But this means I'm going to have to get up there for something else and do it _again._ "

"And again, and again," Caroline uttered on a loop, bending her arms and thrusting her hips into her side. "And just like… almost everything else, you're going to be enjoying it by the end."

"There's something wrong with you." Elena stated somberly and the bubbly blonde curved the corner of her mouth spinning to lean her elbows back, sipping her cocktail.

"Next up, _Miss_ _Caroline Dorothy-Buchanan lll_ ," echoed overhead and Kai choked mid-sip, turning to Caroline slowly craning her head to him.

"Is that supposed to be _me?"_

"I couldn't remember your last name."

"So you went with that?" she let out in exasperation. "Do I look I stepped out of the 1920's?"

"Kind of, yeah, that's why I went with it."

"I'll get you back for that one," Caroline promised with a kind smile making something uneasy in the pit of his stomach and watched in awe with the rest as she belted out a slow and painstakingly morbid ballad, her striking voice almost up to par with his girlfriend's, but not quite.

Four buzzers did happen to go off for her as well which wasn't much of a shocker and switched off with Evan who was next up followed by mini redheaded Walsh. The rest of the auditions went by in a blur of alcoholic blends and once the battle rounds kicked into the play it was safe to assume the group was sufficiently tipsy. Waiting until all of the scorecards were tallied up and received payment for each the setup had everyone broken up in pairs going head-to-head and the winner of that will move onto the next faceoff, and so on until it's the last two standing. The contestants could choose the song but they had to agree on one and the judges were nixed from here on out, the mob having the final say by shouting for who they liked better.

Evan and Kai were one of the first duo's to come out and set the bar and knew they had to go big, going for _Highway to Hell_ by _ACDC_ and waved a few grade-A sparklers into existence handing some off to the Gemini. Grinning at the first strum of the electric guitar his head began bobbing to the beat and swiped one of the mics off the stand, getting his voice rough and scratchy as he took the lead on the first verse. Both sang harmoniously together during the chorus facing each other head on like they were enemies vying for the same trophy in a crusade and took solo's during the rest, a taste of their voices together and standing out on its own a clever contrast to get the full effect of who the people believe the true victor is.

"Alright now that was one fierce competition, am I right?" the girl from earlier boomed making the audience do the same. "Now it's time to pick the winner, all in favor of Evan?"

The crowd went wild with applause and whistles, stomping their feet for added effect showing how they felt about him and he lifted both hands straight in the air bending forward with an exaggerated bow like he was praising the Gods.

" _Thank you, thank you very much_."

"Whew, that's going to be a tough one to beat but let's see how you all feel about Kai." The walls were alive with energy from the outbursts of appreciation and passion that was being thrown his way, not able to do anything but snigger at the amped-up reactions that were being received. "And the one advancing to face off against the next opponent is… Kai!"

Kissing his palm and whipping it out forcibly as a ' _blowing a kiss'_ motion he spun and did a little jig earning another uproar before hopping off the stage and ordering the loser a few rounds of drinks. After a few more shots and a chugging competition of who could finish three beers the fastest Kai's vitality was strong and full of zest, his overall mood becoming increasingly more relaxed and goofy as the night progressed on.

Caroline knocked out a girl with something spunky by a ' _Gaga'_ and Bonnie crushed Emma once the first high note was struck. Soon it was Kai up against his favorite vampire and let her pick the arrangement as long as it predated her birth and she went with a classic, _Summer Nights_ in _Grease_. After a beautiful melody and trip down memory lane from having to watch that all the time with Josette, Kai won the skirmish by a thin margin and got down on one knee dropping his head and raising his hands in respect to the little ladies vocal talents.

After a few more exiles it was down to the final crusade and as fate would have it his adversary was none other than the voice that's been making everyone and more importantly _him_ wild for the entire game; the captivating irises ones he could spot out anywhere. Taking another shot the two hit the stage hopping around getting amped up and slid over to Bonnie, letting her take the lead on what to pick.

"I have no idea, whatever you want to do."

"This is the championship; I wouldn't feel right having that kind of leverage over you."

"But you don't care if I do?"

" _I like the challenge_. Are there any old musicals or movies that had duets that you liked?"

"I liked _all of them_ ; _Grease, Dirty Dancing, The Sound of Music, Footloose,_ and the list goes on."

"I just did a nice little diddy with Caroline from _Grease_ -"

"And you beat her."

"So you probably don't want to go down that path," Kai finished with a wink, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pocket, "but Josette was a musical fanatic so I've seen them all too many times to count. What were you thinking; _Nobody Puts Baby In the Corner?"_

"More like _I've Had the Time of My Life,_ " Bonnie countered spreading the Cheshire grin across his face, taking a few steps backwards to let the band know what to play. "I was just saying it was an option!"

"And it was a fine one indeed. Lead the way, Baby."

The term of endearment sounded strange coming out of his mouth even if he was just referring to the main character in the movie, but the snap of her neck in his direction confirmed she heard it the same way until the lightbulb went off.

"Bring it on, Johnny."

Creeping in close Kai took stand in front of one of the stands and starting out in a deep undertone, enunciating each syllable and dragging them out getting a few girly whoops spread throughout the faces.

 _Now I've had the time of my life_

 _No I never felt like this before_

 _Yes I swear, it's the truth_

 _And I owe it all to you_

Bonnie repeated the first and last line in a sultry tone that made his and every other male in the room's jeans get instantaneously too tight, fingers running through his hair in a messy fashion to physically shake it from his current mindset and concentrate. Tugging the mic free Kai danced with quick back and forth foot movements to his current challenger feeling a tad ashamed that even with all of the information stored in his brain there still managed to be a carved out nugget of space for the lyrics to every romantic musical's soundtrack from childhood.

Breaking it up in the same manner as the artists Kai would sing a line and Bonnie would do the next finishing a full verse followed by the two of them singing a part together. Not positive of exactly _where_ he was supposed to chime in on he would just jump in every now in then, either synchronizing the same part or adding in his own notes and sound effects to make it blend. The more they got into it the clearer the lyrics they were serenading became and came close to tripping over his words a few times over how spot-on the whispered vows were to how they were really feeling for one another.

 _With my body and soul_

 _I want you more than you'll ever know_

 _So we'll just let it go_

 _Don't be afraid to lose control, no_

 _Yes I know what's on your mind_

 _When you say 'stay with me' tonight_

 _Just remember_

 _You're the one thing_

 _I can't get enough of_

 _So I'll tell you something_

 _This could be love_

Aiming to make the experience as painless and comical as possible Kai was goading her to look at him instead of all of the stranger's staring back at her with intentions to get her to dance around too. The microphones being wireless knocked out any fears of tripping over the cord and knocking Bonnie off the stage and circled around her like a predator; crouching down to gaze up at her as he belted out his line, twirling and gliding her around the platform, playing with the fedora with tricks and switching it off both of their heads, and staying hot on her heels with some classic 80s moves.

Kai could tell the instant the rest of the room faded away and forgot she was surrounded, her light laughter twinkling through the speakers and loosened up copying some of his steps but looking so much better while doing it. Digging deep for the last verse the two locked eyes as genuine promises spilled from their lips moving in leisurely towards the other a breath away when the last word was sung, grunting at the contact of Bonnie slamming into his chest with her arms wrapped around his ribs.

Fairly certain he felt her body vibrating not just from the stomping against the ground and chanting of an _'encore'_ Kai ducked his head and fell into the fit of hysteria she was in from all of the adrenaline and rush from putting yourself out there. Tilting underneath her chin with his thumb Bonnie's soft lift pressed against his and pulled her in closer, attempting to block out the drunken college stirs with difficulty from how loud and energetic they were over them.

"Break it up lovebirds, we still have a pressing matter at hands!" resonated louder than the others and turned to the frat guy heading their way. "Now since these two were exceptional we're going to give you all the chance to vote and donate to the _both_ of them, and whoever's tallied up with the biggest donation and love from the audience will be deemed the winner! _"_

Going about the voting was essentially like being auctioned off, one going first and standing front and center as the onlookers threw up their bracket cards if they were going to donate until you couldn't even hear the numbers being said over the noise. The results came down to the wire and had to be finalized by the money-count since there was no way to distinguish one wail of encouragement over another, Kai coming to a hair under $500 while Bonnie just tipped over the scale pushing her into the win.

"And the _Ultimate Singing Champ of 2012 goes to Bonnie Bennett!"_

Snaking an arm behind her back and lifting her Bonnie looked so overjoyed a tautness wrapped around his heart and squeezed making it unbearable to breathe, spinning in circles as the people raged on. Planting her on the ground they put the mics back on the stands and held hands taking a bow to the fans – and then another with his hands outstretched to the champion – before heading over to the spot where witches and vampires were lingering.

"Bonnie I never want to hear you can't sing again because you just beat out every college kid in this place and _won the entire battle._ "

"You're a rock star."

"So badass – and what a voice! I was going to compliment the leader over here that he didn't completely suck when you hit the stage and blew the competition out of the bar."

"Thanks Evan," she smiled softly seeming out of place or uncomfortable as the center of attention and Kai moved his arm sliding her in front of him facing outward and curling his arms across her stomach tugging her back.

"I think we should hit the road like _Sonny and Cher,_ we could have a real shot at it."

"The starving artist angle never really appealed to me," Bonnie remarked cocking her head to meet his gaze.

"I'd _never_ let you go hungry, Bon, look at who you're talking to."

"1994's own personal chef, how could I ever forget?"

'I'm also a pretty excellent bartender; may I offer you some replenishment?"

"Hmm, so you're kind of like a butler then; butler Parker," she said in a British accent and snorted into a laugh, her two friends joining in.

"You know on second thought maybe you don't need one," he teased and grunted at her thrusting backwards into him, "fine, you lush."

The sounds of humor instead of aggravation at his sarcasm really stuck out to Kai in showing how far they've come from Bonnie not wanting anything to do with him even when he was trying to be his _friendliest._ Nuzzling in to kiss the side of her neck he loosened his grip lacing his fingers through hers and held his arms out as a barricade so no one could bump into her. Reaching the bar a line of a ten shots were lined up for the taking and stood from one end of the counter to the other, holding the drinks up and making an imaginary _clink_ before the strong flavor of cinnamon whiskey swooshed around his taste buds.

"Mm, love that one," Bonnie hummed.

"What's it called?"

" _Fireball_ , you haven't had it before?"

"I guess not, but it is delicious," he emphasized the last word and dangled the glass signaling he needed a refill.

"You are going to be so plastered I'll need to carry you home," she remarked off to his side and Kai pivoted to lean sideways on the counter, scanning down her tiny frame.

"I find that highly unlikely."

"You're already half in the bag."

"No I meant about you being able to carry me, I just don't see that happening," Kai countered and smirked at the roll of her eyes, pushing forward to grip the edge of the bar on either side of her arms caging her in. "Try to hold up my dead weight."

Falling forward Bonnie's hands shot up pressing against his pecs and held him there for a good ten seconds longer than he expected, her own state of being under the influence shining through at the pristine time.

"So heavy," she wheezed crushed between him and the countertop and chuckled pushing backwards, still between his arms. "I'll just get Elena to drive instead."

Taking a break from the fame and fortune the Acapella groups were up next and blew everyone's minds with the array of noises these kids were able to make just with their mouths. They played something called the ' _Riff-off'_ where they go through categories like genre's, decades, or clues leading to a specific singer and a clique was axed at a time until there was only one left; a list going around to contribute funds to whichever ensemble you enjoyed best. The longer they stayed away from being the entertainment the more they hung near the bar, specifically pressed against one of the ends right beside the wall tucking them out of sight.

Bonnie wasn't mistaken when she called him out on being intoxicated but in the prison world since his body couldn't have any harm or things done to it alcohol didn't have much of an effect on him either, so drinking a bottle of Rum in a day didn't have the same influence it would to the average human. Since Kai underwent the supernatural mutation his system rebooted and upgraded, resetting things he had become accustomed to such as having a few drinks without the wooziness rearing its head. What he had forgotten he'd missed was the silly and flirty feelings that came with that happy-go-lucky state of mind where your troubles really don't seem that earth-shattering.

"You're being really cute… it's weird," Bonnie muttered against his jaw as he had her in a snug embrace, throwing his head back and barking out a laugh. "Not that you _can't be_ , just that… I don't see you like this a lot."

"You never think I'm cute? Sad news."

"You're – shut up, you know you're good looking," she cut herself off making Kai crack up and squeeze her harder. "I just mean you're acting more playful and attentive and _touchy_ , it's sweet. I might need to get you buzzed more; I don't hate this side of you."

"Well if you could fill me in one which sides you _do_ despise I can do my best not to show them anymore," he replied earnestly and closed his eyes at the feel of nails scratching his scalp.

"I'll get back to you on that."

"That's got to be one long list," Kai let out with mock- despair resting his forehead against her, listening to her breath catch before responding.

"Not as long as you'd think."

Pulling his heavy lids open Bonnie's inked out orbs stared back at him, the flecks of green still visible but displaying how buzzed she was. Humming Kai's lips vibrated against her skin as he traced up her cheek and down her neck, smiling at the girly peeps coming from within their little bubble. The sorority girl came on the loudspeakers to get into what the next competition is and how the donations were going to be worked into it and it sounded like another spin-off of a new show that Kai and Josette used to be the masters of; lip synching.

" _Lip Sync Battle_ for those of you who haven't caught the show yet is two famous people go head-to-head with two songs each. Since they have a ton of money and production going on their second choice comes with props, back up dancers, and choreography but we don't necessarily have the funds for that so we're just going to keep it simple and then the audience cheers for the winner. The sign up lists are going around but since we already have a few names let's kick this off! And as always in between the performances we're going to have the karaoke stage open as well!"

Kai was semi paying attention to what she was saying but for the most part was too absorbed with the girl in a spunky 80s outfit, counting off how long it'd take Bonnie to push him away since they are out in public and people can see. What he didn't expect was her to be just as affectionate, cuddling into him and running her hands around his back and stomach between his t-shirt and loose long sleeve; a willing participant in his onslaught of endearment.

"Alright next up on karaoke is going to be a duet… no, I'm sorry, I see _battle_ written next to these names. Okay the next battle on the karaoke stage is going to be by Caroline and Kai – get on up here!"

The sound of his name shook him into lucidity and lifted his head checking around them until a bobbing head of blonde appeared in front of him, grinning mischievously.

"You want to battle me again; did you already forget how that went for you last time?"

"This time I'm prepared, and you're going down," she remarked sternly and confidently, spiking his curiosity and looked back to Bonnie rubbing the tip of his nose to hers.

"I have to go embarrass your friend again; I'll meet you back here in ten."

"So cocky for someone who's been singing old show tunes to himself for a decade or two," Caroline poked fun at as they weaved through people to the other side of the building.

"' _The people'_ seem to concur," he said with emphasis and a grand gesture around them at everyone getting hyped that they were up.

"Please, this is all for me," she scoffed flipping her hair over her shoulder and he chortled, stopping at the steps and holding out a hand to assist her in not tripping back down them.

"Ladies first, what will you be singing tonight?"

" _Someone Like You,_ by _Adele."_

Taking a few steps back to let her have the floor Kai had to give the girl credit where it was due – she could really belt out a melody. Going with something slow and moving seemed to be her go-to choice as she was able to hit higher soft notes as well as tones as deep as his voice. When Caroline finished everyone was on their feet wanting her to continue and she threw a smirk over her shoulder, goading him on.

Stepping up to the plate Kai let the world know he was going to crush this round the same way, with a beautiful depiction of _Feelin' Good_ by _Nina Simone._ The version they had was by someone named _Michael Buble_ who sounded oddly familiar and the beat was more mellow and downtempo which worked out even better. Unlike Caroline he fully intended to drag her into his performance and spent half the time following her around with his arm around her shoulders or resting an elbow against one. Taking full advantage of the music breaks he passed the time with some air guitar, light drum beats, or just moving his hands and head to the beat like a composer which seemed to get some extra TLC.

Starting the second verse the music kicked up a notch and Kai went all out, letting loose and going for it like he'd do during the plays in high school. The uproars blended into his own voice by the time he made it to the end and gritted out the last lyrics hitting the notes accordingly as the crowd went off. Scanning outwards through the openings between the wooden banisters Bonnie and the rest of the group were jumping and making their own racket that he'd never be able to hear from way over here and looked back to Caroline glaring at him.

"What?" he snickered and she slowly stepped up beside him, facing the audience.

"Nothing… yet. But we'll see how I feel in a minute."

"Well what a crusade that was indeed! The both of you absolutely killed it, let's give them another hand!" The girl pepped speaking again after it settled down, "I guess since you did this in the same manner as the other games we're going to need all of your help to judge who brought it just a little bit more than the other. Okay let's start with Kai since his presentation is fresh in your minds; let me hear some noise!"

Kai couldn't help but laugh at the craziness that these kids and even _adults_ were causing in this establishment, the place looking so run down that all of this mania could bring it to its knees.

"I will kill you," Caroline uttered under her breath just within earshot.

"Now let's give it up for Caroline!" The rowdiness stayed at the same level as when his cheers were dying out, no wails of motivation indicating who the winner was, once again. "And this one goes to the one who _almost_ took the belt; Kai!"

" _So many drinks_ are about to be on you," she mumbled behind his shoulder and pivoted once he made it down the stairs to assist her, the sourpuss making him cheerful inside.

"You don't take losing too well, huh?"

"I usually don't lose," Caroline stated as a matter of fact, not in a vain manner like people usually mistake his own assertiveness for.

"Well you're a worthy opponent for what it's worth; you make me work for it."

"Good," she smiled looking a touch more fulfilled than a moment prior.

Reaching their destination the only two left at the bar was Bonnie and Stefan, not another familiar face in sight. "Where did everyone go?"

"They all split up into two's and dispersed in different directions; Jo and Ric, Elena and Damon, Evan and Emma."

"Elena and Damon," Caroline repeated with a sassy circular motion of her head, " _hmmm_ you don't say. I wonder what they could be talking about that they needed the seclusion for, any ideas?"

"A few," Stefan commented running his hand down her back subtly pulling her in closer, "you sounded amazing up there, Care."

"Almost victor-worthy," she pouted and Kai winked at her from the other end of the bar, signaling they needed more shots of that _Fireball_ , "but it's fine – it's all good, because we're all going to be going up there for many duets and solo acts and we can't win them all so drink up lady and gents, the night isn't over yet."

Kicking into overdrive the group threw back their drinks slamming the tiny glasses upside down on the counter and pulled out all the stops during the free non-competitive cycles of karaoke. He even signed up for the _Lip Sync Battle_ against Evan which he acceptably lost since the younger Gemini is an absolute character and spaz and the spectators gobbled it up like they've been starved in the desert. Bonnie and the girls did a lovely cover to _I Put A Spell on You_ by _Annie Lennox_ but it was a quicker upbeat version that Kai later discovered was from _Hocus Pocus_ , the name bringing back particularly fond memories of the little house the two of them stayed in for a night during their Salem trip over Thanksgiving.

By the luck of the draw everyone in the group seemed to be coupled up – even Elena looked cozy with the whiny Salvatore as they moseyed around the room and even sang a duet together – and the setup worked to his benefit, able to keep his girlfriend all to himself for most of the night. It seemed like every duo had hit the stage at one point or another to make their mark; Bon and Caroline, Caroline and Stefan even though neither Salvatore's technically should have been up there but no one questioned it – most likely in favor of their looks, and mixed groups of Gemini's.

Kai and Bonnie had gone up half a dozen times together and on their own, singing ballads of _Ain't No Mountain High Enough_ by _The Temptations_ and _You're The One That I Want_ at the end of Grease by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. That one was particularly enjoyable since Kai followed behind her the entire time like they did in the movie and she played along, shoving him lightly and getting up close to his face while she sang. The smile that was permanently seared to Bonnie's face is what really made him have such a marvelous night, spending most of it overheated and inhaling a continuous fruity perfume scent from keeping her plastered to him one way or another.

As the evening was headed to a close Kai needed to sing one more song to really make the donators make it feel like the trip over here was worth it, wanting them all to interact on this last one he's been holding out for. Slipping away to the front of the room the band agreed to play one last time and told him what he had in mind, their faces lighting up at his idea. Getting everything squared away the lights dimmed enough that it wasn't blinding but still enough for visibility and a spotlight dropped down signaling another performance was about to happen.

"Hello my favorite Mystic Falls patrons, how have you been enjoying the shows?" Kai wondered getting his head blown back by the sonorous boom of a reaction. "Okay well, now I'm deaf so I don't know if I'm going to excel at this next one but I wanted to finish up the night with something everyone could get involved in – if you know a legendary artist and their choreography, that is. If it's possible make some room right here in the middle and just take a step away from the people you're bumping elbows with, you're going to need it. I have a feeling my fellow college-mates won't be able to keep up, so this is for all of you that's been donating all night."

Chuckling at the way he could rile up a horde Kai bobbed his head to the instruments starting up and his smile was stretched from ear to ear watching as every woman and even the men over thirty were equally losing it as they caught onto what his plan was.

 _It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark_

 _Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart_

 _You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it_

 _You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes_

 _You're paralyzed_

Twitching his head to the side and lifting his shoulder he began what was going to be an extensive _Thriller_ dance montage by _Michael Jackson_ , turning to the side and throwing both arms out in front and behind him while he thrusted his hips taking one step a time towards the crowd. Keeping the hand with the mic close he could multitask by provoking them all farther by telling them ' _I know you all still remember these moves!'_ and ' _let's show these kids what a real dance routine looks like!'_ between the lyrics.

Shifting from side to side Kai stayed quick on his feet sliding, stepping, and jumping accordingly as his hips thrusted and completed it with the appropriate hand motions. Once he hit the part where everyone throws their bent arms out like zombies and rocks them from left to right as you step the other way there were at least fifty adults doing it along with him looking like they were back in their glory days.

 _That it's a thriller, thriller night_

 _'_ _Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try_

 _Girl, this is thriller, thriller night_

 _So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller_

 _Thriller here tonight_

Bending to grab his knees and turn he stomped away closer towards the band and stood looking over his shoulder the same time as everyone else, the cheering of their stellar success resonating throughout the building. Doing the moonwalk across the stage as the band played out the end of the tune Kai hopped off into the crowd laughing the entire way back from all of the attention he was getting from complete strangers. Finding an empty seat he plopped in one and spun resting his elbows behind him on the counter when Bonnie appeared in his line of view, stepping between his legs.

"I just can't take you anywhere," she declared lifting a hand to observe all of the commotion going on around them.

"What do you mean; I'm the life of the party."

"Exactly, best we keep you out of the limelight," she offered sweetly with a pat against his chest and flashed his teeth lifting a shoulder and leaning his head against it. "I think you single-handedly became Mystic Falls most favorable performer, you had the college kids at first glance and won over everyone else with your old soul's variety of music. Care's got to be so upset."

"Yeah she wasn't giving me a pat on the back over my wins against her, that's for sure."

"Well until today that's been her designated spot since roughly… fourth grade, so yeah, I would expect she'd be a little bitter."

"I hope those twenty shots helped dull the pain – which also I need to point out _wow_ that girl can hold her liquor."

"Vampire perks, you didn't have the chance to see her shine during the lightweight ' _I'm drunk after two beers'_ days."

"I bet those were memorable."

"Oh yeah," Bonnie exhaled through a light sound of merriment making him smile and leaned off an elbow to slide his hand between her shirt and jean jacket, snaking her arms around his neck laying against his stomach.

"What?" he asked quietly after a moment's silence, tilting his head slightly at the small smile curving.

"You looked like you were having fun tonight," she stated and his brows drew in, "it's nice to see."

"Are you implying I haven't looked like I've enjoyed myself before?" Kai pondered, trying his hardest not to make the obvious joke but she caught it anyway.

"Oh trust me; _I know the look_ , which is why I know it when I see it. I've just seen you during some not-so-spectacular occasions too so I like to appreciate the good times when they come."

"Me too," he agreed leaving soft pecks up the side of her neck and cheek, leaning back to stare into her glossy but lucid eyes peering back at him. "But it doesn't matter where I am, as long as you're there; with you… I'm happy."

Kai thought he was going to throw up from the surge of adrenaline that shot from his stomach into his throat and lurched forward to catch his breath, Bonnie taking it as an invite and closed the distance sliding her tongue over his. The rapid-fire pounding in his chest had his already limited air supply essentially nonexistent and was blasted with a wave of vertigo, clutching her back and suctioning her to him to steady his balance.

"I can feel your heart racing," she whispered against Kai's lips from their chests pressed together and moved her hand into his hair, leisurely massaging his skull.

Instead of the impassioned make out session he could feel swirling around them Bonnie took another approach; killing him with kindness. Her kisses were soft and gentle, coaxing him down from going into cardiac arrest with a tender touch to match. It wasn't until a fog of euphoria wafted over them that Kai was snapped back into hyperawareness of the impact behind that statement.

Skimming through the kaleidoscope of images he couldn't pinpoint the last time he made a declaration of being truly _happy_ and the bold admission into the world was making his insides turn. Not being one to spit on superstition Kai casually knocked on the underside of the wooden counter with their lips sealed and forced the nervous anxiety out of his system, certain that this time if anything were to happen he would see the war headed for him.


	38. Chapter 38

There needed a be a _Witch Tricks For Dummies_ book that Bonnie could stop by Barnes N Noble to pick up because it was cringe-worthy how little she knew about the finer things of being a young sorceress. Any self-defense or dark arts _Expression_ to ward off evil has been branded into her skull making her a powerful weapon but since she discovered she was a witch it's been one dilemma after the next leaving no free time to dabble in the cooler aspects.

Kai seemed to know all the little tricks and trades that would make her life immensely simpler that she never took the time to learn; like putting together meals without having to touch any of the food, spell a vehicle to drive on its own so you can kick back and enjoy the ride, making any item of clothing come to life from a magazine and online, and _actually_ making money grow on trees.

They had gotten on the topic of the movie _The Craft_ the other night and Bonnie was sulking that she wasn't one of the ' _cool witches in a clique'_ that spent her nights having sleepovers where they changed their hair and eye colors, or levitated, or put love spells on boys. Aside from the snakes and bugs at the end and one of the coven members losing her mind the rest seemed like a mind-blowing success.

"I'll teach you," Kai commented keeping his eyes trained on _Call of Duty_ on the TV. "They're pretty simple spells and you've got the blood of the Gods in regards to the rest of the witchy community so you'll pick it right up. I'm surprised you didn't mess around with it with your friends before they turned into _shadows of the night_ … with a twist, since I guess all the classics didn't count on witches helping them walk in the light."

"I was a little busy, you know, saving my town and the people I love over the past five years. I couldn't find any spare time to conjure up head to toe makeovers."

"You don't need to," he shrugged like it was common sense, cheeks burning as she stared at his profile, "but I'll still educate you in _Witchcraft for Delinquents 101;_ that's how I learned."

"And who taught you?"

"Myself, mostly, especially given the time in solitary to read every Grimoire around the world but Dean was the one to get me started."

"Cody's dad?"

"Agh, so strange," Kai grunted leaning off the couch and pressing buttons hearing the gunfire going off five feet away, "Dean always used to give me shit for being younger and hanging with all of the older kids; if he could only see me now."

"The oldest one in the group hanging with college kids," Bonnie teased.

"Instead of being in _high school_ and spending my days around campus, yeah, times have changed."

"True, you could be a forty-something year old – or dead, depending how that merge with Jo would have went – and living large leading the coven in some big corporation in one of those skyscraper buildings."

"But that doesn't sound fun," he remarked scrunching his nose and mouth, grinning at his teenage side still vital as he shouted at the people he was shooting at.

"But that's what adults do; they put on fancy clothes and act professional and change the world, for better or for worse."

"Pass."

"Well that's where you would probably be right now if that day hadn't happened. We also never would have met, and if we had… you'd be Ric's age, maybe even older."

"You saying you wouldn't date an older guy?"

"Five years, sure. _Twenty five years,_ not so much," Bonnie snorted snuggling in closer. "I mean think about it, with that age difference you'd be closer to my d-"

"If you even think about finishing that sentence we won't be able to look at each other again and it would really complicate things," Kai recoiled seeing his entire body spasm at the thought. "Don't do that to us."

"You're right, I'm sorry," she agreed in a soothing tone leaning in to kiss his cheek, "the last thing I want to think about is sharing my bed with some _old man_ that I wouldn't want to touch."

Rumbling in the back of his throat Kai paused the game and pivoted slamming her backside into the cushions and hovered overhead, one foot on the ground and the other knelt beside her. The bubbling sounds of delight spilled from Bonnie's lips at how entertaining and _easy_ it could be to push his variety of buttons, topics revolved around their relationship seeming to need the gentlest touch to be engaged.

"So if I came home after a hard day's work in my five thousand dollar suit and buff exterior because you _know_ I'd have a personal trainer with all of that money, and I had the same face… only older, you wouldn't touch me?"

Pursing her lips and crinkling her nose Kai's jaw unhinged letting out an appalled gasp, running her hands up the cotton. "I think I need some convincing."

"Wake up from your sex dream and let me out of the car," Caroline bellowed from behind snapping Bonnie out of her daydream and jolted upright, scanning out the windshield to see where they were and deflated back into the seat with a huff.

"I wasn't sleeping, I was just lost in thought. And it wasn't a sex dream but you interrupted right as it was getting good."

"Break my heart, wait ten minutes and reenact it but first _let me out,_ I need my fluffy comforter stat."

"Yeah and I have to pee so bad if I don't get out right now then I won't make it."

"No, no," Kai mumbled sliding out of the seat and pulled the back of it down, Elena scooting out at rapid speed and more or less sprinting for the door after a speedy goodbye.

"Tonight was so much fun, and even though you cheated by winning over the audience with your songs I'm happy you came out with us."

"Thanks," he smirked wiping it clean to a genuine expression when Caroline stepped forward to hug him, both turning their attention on Bonnie when they parted. "Hanging with the girls tonight?"

"Are you going back to the house or staying here?"

"I don't feel like driving, probably just head to the room."

"Okay I'll come with you," she confirmed with a nod and squeezed Care tight before heading to his dorm building.

"Are you hungry?" Kai asked already knowing the answer as he pulled out items from the mini fridge and cabinets. "I can make us turkey and cheese sandwiches with chips, should only take me a minute."

"Please," Bonnie replied hanging her jacket off of the computer chair and suck his hat on the desk, wandering around the perimeter looking at the limited things that were in his room as nothing in particular stood out to tell you anything about who he is. "You could brighten this place up a bit, you know. Maybe some posters on the wall, a candid shot here and there, or just some clothes to make it believable a person is really living here."

"I'll call my interior designer in the morning and let them know," Kai winked spinning the cap off of the mayonnaise, "but it's not like anyone's in here to see it besides you and your friends."

"I know but still, it needs more of a ' _home-y_ ' vibe."

"Well you can bring anything over to set up if you want; it's like an empty canvas."

"Cool," she beamed placing her boots under the desk and grabbed the plate pushed towards her heading to the bed and sitting cross-legged at the end of it so he was still within sight. "I'll just bring in my satin curtains, soft fuzzy neon rugs, and some abstract art to start off."

"Whatever you want," he repeated and headed her way with his plate and two water bottles, kicking off his shoes and sitting across from her near the pillows. "Mi casa es su casa; actually I guess it'd be mi _habitacion_ since this wouldn't be deemed ' _a house'_."

"Gracias," Bonnie replied laying the Spanish accent on thick before biting half of the sandwich in hand, moaning in delight at the taste and essentially melting into the bed.

Having bits of scattered dialogue between bites Kai's harmonious voice kept seeping through her subconscious and took over the prefrontal cortex; all of her focus and attention on the melody as she swayed to each song. Bonnie had heard a small taste of how he sounded when he was just goofing off but it was nothing compared to the performances he put on tonight; his influential presence drawing in every unsuspecting soul in the building. The way Kai could command a room and keep them captivated from the moment they laid eyes on him 'til last call said more about his character than she suspected even he was aware of.

No matter what the reason may be people seem undeniably drawn to something he possesses that makes you want to peel back the layers and see what other mysteries bury locked within that gorgeous exterior, Bonnie being the first to admit how _impossible_ it is not to want to get closer and learn more. The thing about Kai that first drew her in was his natural ability to be a happy and carefree person; his cheerfulness and optimistic way of viewing every obstacle hurdled his way while he was trapped in his very own _Planet Hell_ opening her eyes to the negative way she's felt about the hand she has been dealt.

Even when he was branded ' _the enemy_ ' he went out of his way to comfort Bonnie in any way he knew how; through conversation, food, and cuddling up beside you which in some twisted way makes you feel safer. Before Kai's emotional flip was switched on triggering forty years of pent-up feelings he was still able to express himself in a way that made her believe he was starting to like her and felt a similar veiled lure towards him, even with his dark imperfections. At his lowest, with a cellmate who couldn't stand him, humanity-less, and powerless, the Beast lurking within his caged tower was able to use his methods of persuasion on her and convince Bonnie she shouldn't be afraid of him – and boy did he succeed in that.

The light that she's capable of seeing Kai in now brings back the cascade of cruel remarks by his father and the judgment by her friends, but it's his own broken voice whispering confessions filled with disgust that he was ' _the monster'_ and ' _that no one could ever love me'_ that made her chin wobble and teeth chatter feeling the trembling shoot down her arms to her fingertips. A rush of guilt spread through momentarily blinding Bonnie as she thought back to all of the times she must have added onto the way he views himself by drawing a line in the sand and refusing to let her stubborn mind see any of the good that Kai was constantly trying to prove to her was there.

Even now – when she feels the way she does about him – it's still so grueling to get out the words of endearment and she was struggling to come to terms with why that is. Jeremy and her hadn't been as hot and heavy or as complex but there was never an overwhelming crushing weight in her chest whenever she thought about letting him know how much she likes him, and that is not the case with Kai. In this moment, however, Bonnie was feeling particularly generous about filling her boyfriend in on all of the fond thoughts fluttering throughout her mind; how hot he was tonight at the top of the list.

"Are you cold?" echoed through her eardrums and glanced up to the line between Kai's eyebrows. "You're shivering."

Bonnie's line of view dropped down to her shaking hands hovering over the plate and pushed it aside, pivoting onto her knees to crawl across the mattress saddling up on his thighs with his legs outstretched. Slouching down her cheek landed on his chest and curled her hands around his lower back, tilting forward when Kai leaned back to rest his upper-half against the backboard. Caging her to him he rubbed her back and arms in an attempt to warm her up while holding her close, his even breathing calming her own swift pulse and nuzzled in closer craving that sensation of being protected from the rest of the world.

"You know you were the reason why everyone at _The_ _Grill_ had such a fun night," Bonnie exhaled into the cotton, "they couldn't get enough of you; men, women, college kids… especially the kids, but it was genuine. _And_ you helped raise a heaping of money because there is no chance that the _Thriller_ routine didn't bring in half of the earnings. For a guy who hasn't been around another person since the 90's and thinks he's _Mr. Big and Bad_ you can really make a crowd fall for you."

"And what about you?" Inquired deeply from Kai's vocal cords near her face and eyes bulged open, freezing at the thought. "Did you have fun?"

"I-" stumbled out before she could contain it, the jumbled upheaval over the contrast of their two thought processes making her mind spin twice as fast. "It was less painful than I had anticipated, and you are the reason why."

A soft curve of Bonnie's lips tilted up hearing a sound of delight from his chest under her ear and lifted her head to glazed eyes staring back at her. "I warned you I'd get you hooked by my alluring trills; I'm like the manly Ariel of the land."

The laughter spilled out feeling the ache in her ribs and closed her eyes touching foreheads before pulling back, his teeth shining back at her and hitched up to a soprano singing through the melody. " _I want to be part of your world…"_

" _Under the sea,_ " he gritted out in a thick Boston accent wiggling his head for added effect and chuckled to himself, running a hand up her side to cup her neck rubbing his thumb against her jawline.

"It wasn't just your singing that wowed me tonight - there was also a bit of dancing involved too," Bonnie joked before turning somber, "I think what really did it for me was seeing you having such a good time with everyone. I mean you did karaoke with Care, drank your weight in competitions with Evan, and sang cheesy romance movie songs with me. Your energy is palpable and contagious and the response you got from everybody tonight proves the change that you've made since coming back to present day. In 2012 you're not deemed the ' _villain'_ or ' _outcast'_ , that's not the way people see you anymore… that's not how I see you."

"How do you see me?" he asked quietly with a tilt of his head, his thumb continuing its motion.

"As someone I can go to… for anything, or with anything. If I run into trouble I know you'll be there whether I asked for it or not. And I believe you when you tell me you'll keep me safe, even though that's kind of a farfetched and extreme promise to make and hold you to. I see someone who spent the first half of his life in an internal Hell and the second half in the physical plane but you've somehow still managed to hold onto hopefulness and keep a positive attitude that things would turn around for you, even when there wasn't a drop of positivity left in that place." Bonnie paused, sliding her palm behind the necklace to absorb the meaning of it and why he wears it every day. "I see your strength, and bravery, from fighting just to _survive_ all of these years and your devotion to never give up on what you believe. I see you for who you are, not the stereotypical version that's been showcased throughout the coven. I see you as someone I genuinely care about and catch myself liking more each day; you're my boyfriend."

"Wow, _drunk Bonnie_ says such nice things about me," Kai murmured sounding authentically astonished, the knife twisting in over her incompetency to vocalize the positive things about him.

"I'm not _that bad,"_ she argued glancing down at his smirk, "sure I'm rambling but do you hear any slurring? Let's chalk it up to mildly intoxicated. Besides these are things that I think about all of the time and value about you it's just that whole ' _telling you'_ part that trips me up. I know it's hard for you to understand, what with you saying before you couldn't fathom why I wouldn't tell someone what was on my mind and how I felt, but…"

"It's difficult putting yourself out there with secrets only you know and feel," he concluded and her head jerked back at the unexpected response, one he was incapable of comprehending a few months prior.

"How did you know that?"

"I'm a real boy now, remember? All my parts are working correctly. And like I've told you a hundred times already – I know _you_ , and all of your little quirks. Like your fiery ability to express every pent-up frustration you feel over a topic but lacking in the skills department when it comes to discussing the two of us. You're lucky I'm very assured of myself I can see a weaker species getting crippled with self-doubt, but then again I'm sure they wouldn't be able to read you like I can."

"Oh, and what do you pick up on that gives away what I think about you?" Bonnie hummed raking her nails up his t-shirt to his shoulders and pushing the thin cardigan down to his elbows, his head cocking to look at one arm and flicked his eyes back at her.

"Well there's a clue."

"Am I too subtle about expressing the way I feel about you, or do I not show it enough?" Bonnie fluttered her lids giving a feigned look as her fingers dipped between her legs unhooking his belt and yanking it off through the loops.

"You… certainly show it," Kai remarked with a nervous laugh, his hands raised a few inches away from her arms like he wasn't sure what to do. "And I'd say you do a fine job at getting your point across – better than fine, spectacular; worthy of an encore."

"Then what's the problem?" she pressed tugging at the sleeves at his wrist, pulling one arm free and taking it off with the other.

"I've told you before; I want to get in your head and know what you're thinking."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," he smirked, the curve fading the longer Bonnie waited for him to be more specific. "I mean there's a list of questions I could throw at you to quench my curiosity but I just mean in general. During those times when I can tell you want to say something, but don't, or when you go on a three minute daydream and have a grand epiphany but I have _no idea why._ I want… more of you – all of you; is that weird? That probably came off worse than how I heard it."

"But you've got me… right here, leisurely undressing you while you've made no attempt to do the same. Here is my body, now you want my mind too?"

"Exactly," Kai said unflinchingly while boldly holding the other's stare, remembering a time when his main and more than likely only focus was trying to get inside her in the biblical sense, now putting forth no effort towards it whatsoever.

"First my body, now my mind; what's next, my soul?" Bonnie interrogated in a light teasing tone as a flush spread underneath her skin when his gaze skimmed down her chest and back up, lifting an eyebrow a fraction.

"Maybe."

A shiver racked her frame from head to toe, hands and thighs shaking against Kai with such exertion she could have sworn it traveled through him too. Running his palms down her chilled arms he rested them on the tops of her hands against his chest, the thudding under her fingers quickening the longer the silence stretched on. Once upon a time Bonnie had thought that letting Kai in _physically_ would be the most preposterous notion and recently has upped the ante by pondering over how deep she'd be willing to let him into her mentally. But a sentence Bonnie couldn't have prepared herself for was that he didn't just want to know who she was, and how she was, Kai wanted to find a way into her soul – her heart.

"It hasn't had the best of luck so far," she murmured lifting a shoulder and tilting her face shielding half of it from view, "maybe it's in my blood. Gram's used to tell me old fables of _The Supreme Bennett Witches_ that were masters in sorcery, capable of vanquishing any hurdle in the road to make up for their inexperience and unfortunate hand dealt in the romance department. I knew she was full of it since she also told me her love life with grandpa was fulfilling until the day he died which meant she didn't have to go through the _Bennett's Urban Legend._ But I was starting to think maybe it just skipped a generation or two and got passed down to me… until Jeremy. Then he chose his dead ex-girlfriend whose name was you guessed it, _Anna,_ and I reverted back to my old ways of apprehension wondering if the ghost stories were true. But there's been something since the very beginning that has made me feel drawn to you pulling me in like a magnet, like we were somehow supposed to be connected. It sounds ridiculous and I wouldn't admit it if the drinks didn't dull the senses just enough but I feel like – like I was meant to meet you, to find you in that place."

"Like destiny; fate brought you to my _Underworld_ doorstep?" Kai inquired in pensive consideration, the small smile spreading. "I seem to recall you using other colorful adjectives to describe why you landed in 1994. That it was your Purgatory, your punishment, your _'Hell in plaid shirts and overalls'._ "

"Yeah it was _still_ all of those things, but who knows; maybe it was a little more than that too."

"I know you're pretty hammered but there's no way I'm letting you forget that you said we were _fated_ to meet each other," he murmured gliding his cold palms underneath the tank top up her naked back, whispering, " _Tale as old as time."_

Crooning the music to _Beauty and The Beast_ Bonnie's lids drifted closed and smiled swaying gently hearing the tunes from the Masquerade Ball as her and Kai danced around the room in their Disney prince and princess attire. The lingering thoughts that they were supposed to come into each other's lives has been in the back of Bonnie's mind since before she had even made it to the prison world; the ominous declaration made by Gram's for why she wouldn't cross back over into the world of the living one that chimes through her subconscious during some of their most intimate moments together.

The factor of being visually impaired heightened all of her other senses; the feel of cotton under her fingers and every readjustment made between her legs, Kai's uneven breathing coming out in airy puffs, and the smell of his shampoo mixed with whatever cologne or body wash he wears painting a picture of them surrounded by noise and party guests wrapped up and shielded in his embrace. But more than anything Bonnie craved a _hunger_ so immense it nearly drowned out everything else, her body responding on its own volition raking her nails under his shirt to tug it over his head. Sick of Kai's agonizingly snails-paced actions she crossed her arms pulling the tank top off and popped his button free, fingers lacing through hers hindering her progress.

"I hope the liquor didn't also numb your common sense because you've usually caught on to what's happening long before now."

"I see what you're doing, I'm – well it's sort of like the metaphoric Devil and Angel on my shoulder, if you will."

"And what are they saying?" Bonnie poised using the leverage of his weight to lean into his hands and rock over the fabric, his grip squeezing hers.

"One is being very gentlemanly, he's dressed in one of my fancy three-piece suits and reminding you we're both really drunk and you might not remember and that there's plenty of time for all of the sexy stuff."

"He's boring," she sighed rolling into him again and tightened her thighs seeing his pupils dilate. "What about the other one?"

"Well he's in his birthday suit… so, that should give you a fair concept," Kai stated as if it was casual information hitting her funny bone, "and he is adamant that you will _certainly_ be able to recall every little detail of what's to come, it's the rest of the day that may get fuzzy."

"I like him," Bonnie responded as her final decision following the heatwave coursing through her and yanked her hands away to unhook her bra, cupping his over her breasts and holding them there.

"He likes you too."

"Then tell him to come out and play, it's just us now."

"Bon I have zero restraint left in me and if you push one or two more moves in those leather pants my way I'll have no choice but to retaliate, and I will _ruin you._ "

The untamed disclosure was one that a year ago Bonnie would have ran from, and six months ago would have put her on edge, but the hoarse voice grating out each word like it was sworn in like an oath had her blood pumping and limbs trembling as the sound of his jeans unzipping was the only noise in the room.

"Promise?"

Lurching forward Bonnie was flipped onto her back moaning out in mirth at the ridge of the zipper grinding against her sleek pants, Kai's shoulder width stretching to twice the size of hers as he towered over.

" _Who are you?"_

Raking her nails up his arms, down his torso and around his back the tightness in her throat subsided as the answer drifted into her mind and danced across her lips, staring up into blue irises.

"Your girlfriend."

"Is that the first time you've said it out loud?" Kai mused taking her limbs curling into him as verification. "Isn't it a rush? I don't recall at any given time feeling like that before with Gabby, but that could be thanks to the way I was hand-crafted. What about you?"

"I think everything about us has been unconventional since the day we met." Pushing against his chest Bonnie leaned up as he teetered over planting his foot on the floor to catch himself and they both stood, her palm gently forcing him backwards and followed in-step. "Each quarrel, and attempt at getting to know each other. The way we formed a friendship and how it progressed its way into a relationship, and every sexual-tension filled moment it created. Since I felt that first spark when I saw you in the grocery store that ignited my magic I haven't been able to shake you, no matter how hard I tried."

"I wouldn't let you," he simpered now almost to the opposite-hand wall, "but I can appreciate your crack at it."

"Have you always liked me?"

"I wanted to know more about who you are, what you were like, and how I could get closer so… yeah, I'd say that's a fair presumption."

"But I could be so unapproachable and hostile, I was-"

"Intriguing to be around, without fail," Kai inferred drinking in her physique, "But I chalked it up to being guarded and quick-witted. I wasn't worthy of your trust yet."

"What a ways you've come," Bonnie purred hooking her fingers into his waistband and tugging down taking both items of clothing with it.

"I don't think either of us are the same people we were before we met. I could give credit to being in an alternate dimension but I was still set in my ways until that point and you spent a few months in there with Damon first too. All gung-ho to get back home and reunite him and your BFF, worrying about what mess you'd have to clean up," he commented in a nonchalant matter and let out of a gasp of surprise when the unexpected shove sent him backwards onto the hammock he didn't seem to notice was there. "Look at you now."

Hiding the smile behind her hand Bonnie used her hair to hide her face and slid her hands down her neck and breasts, dripping lower to unbutton her pants. Pivoting sideways she kept her legs straight sticking her butt out as she bent pulling them and her underwear down to her ankles, stepping out of each leg with stunningly balanced grace. Sauntering closer with a rhythm in each shake of her hips Kai reached for her, muttering something about being ' _not ready'_ and she swatted his hand away.

" _I am ready._ "

"I-"

Lifting a palm with an exhale of a chant his hands were wretched back to the hammock pulling him with it, slithering up his lean frame and turning them slightly so they were stretched out the correct way. The white cotton fabric was soft underneath Bonnie's hands and shins, a contrast to the cheap fishnet kind that leaves marks all over your skin and it hung from two large hooks in the ceiling.

"I hope this is sturdy enough," she said under her breath staring directly overhead.

"It is," sounded below bringing her to his pinched expression, "Bon I can't – I don't want to hurt you… and I might, so just… wait."

Freeing his hands Bonnie waved hers binding them back in place and laughed out loud at his snarl of frustration through clenched teeth, lifting onto her knees and reaching down to line him up.

"No."

" _Bonnie._ "

"I can't wait – I want you now."

Digging her knees into the cotton she slid down Kai's hard shaft and let out a sharp screech when she got halfway down, his size making her come to an abrupt halt and thighs shook violently around him. Panting out short puffs of air Bonnie's index finger curled around his chain as the rest dug into his pecks, struggling to hold up her oncoming dead weight from her muscles giving out. Heavy lids brought Kai's vexed expression to her like tunnel-vision, glaring back at him reading that he thinks he was right and she should have listened and forced her body to prove him wrong.

Pulling back Bonnie tilted into him getting a better angle and sank down – the snug entrance being forcefully stretched without any windows of adjustment protruding a high-pitched cry out of her. Ripping his arms free Kai gripped her hipbones freezing her movements and slid the pad of his thumb over her clit putting pressure against it with steady circular motions. Uncontrollable spasms shook her frame at the touch and Bonnie rode into him on her own volition letting out harsh and expletive words for each inch she took in.

When she felt Kai's pelvis rub against hers a satisfied shrill slipped from her lips and listened on as a bystander as she moaned out his name with words of encouragement; ' _yes'_ and ' _more'_ coming out an octave higher each time she came back down. It took until the dizziness from being buzzed and overwhelmed senses had cooled down before Bonnie noticed he wasn't rocking into her the way she thought – in actuality he was completely still, and every part of him looked strained.

"What are you doing? Get into it."

"No."

"N – what?" she asked in a haze, churning her hips into his, "I'm fine, Kai. Now come on, work with me here."

"This round's yours," he replied straightforwardly, the inscrutable look on his face making her breath hitch at what that meant for her immediate future.

"That's not fair, I'm having a… adjustment period this time, I need a do-over."

"I'm sure there will be more than just the back and forth," Kai commented curving a corner of his mouth, "but just in case, better make this one count."

Catching the offhanded statement as a challenge Bonnie gripped the wooden bar that the fabric wraps around just above his head and balanced out her upper body, using the feeling of being lightweight to rock into him. Keeping up a breakneck speed Kai grunted out something brazen and sent a piercing ' _smack'_ across one of her cheeks, her wail laced with salaciousness and bowed back keeping one hand around the wood to control the way they moved.

Rocking to the swift pace of their uneven breathing the rough edge in his utterances brought Bonnie back to watching him strut around the stage wafting his sex appeal at women of all ages, the satisfaction that she's the only one that gets him behind the curtains making her hot in a crowded room. It's a strange concept but sometimes seeing Kai from afar and the persona he puts out into the world makes her crave him in a disparate manner; his dominant presence giving off an ' _untouchable'_ and predatory vibe that she secretly yearns to get closer to.

Trembling at the unanticipated orgasm electrifying her neurons Bonnie sounded raspy as provocative confidential pieces of information continued to spill out. "I really do love having this control over you – it makes me feel special, but there's just something so right about giving it over to you."

"You don't say," Kai rumbled reaching to cup her neck dragging her face in until it was an inch or two away. "I swear Sheila made you in a factory for me; you could be one of those ' _miracle Jesus babies'_ you hear about every couple of decades."

"I don't think I'm ' _pure_ ' enough for that title," Bonnie pointed out with a wave of their entangled selves, squealing when he tackled her tumbling onto her back.

"Well as per usual, your standards are too high," he jabbed with a cock of his chin while drawing designs up the side of her body traveling north. "You need to set the bar in a more realistic setting. _Now_ , would you be so kind, and turn around."

"On… the hammock," she deduced, nodding and wiggling under his heavy weight to flip like a pancake and rose onto her knees grinding into him reflexively.

Soft giggles and gasps left Bonnie's lips from him kissing and nibbling up her spine until his dick slid in between her cheeks, salivating at the guttural end of an exhale that sounded like Kai got the wind knocked out of him. Yearning to hear it again her back arched and slid up and down his shaft feeling a tingle that scorched her skin with a layer of sweat. Pressing against her lower back with one hand as the other squeezed her hip Bonnie reached overhead to dig her nails into his hair until his forehead rested between her shoulder and neck.

Dark spots materialized clouding her vision as a dark desire brewed in the pit of her stomach the more Kai's stiffness stroked between her cheeks rubbing against every tender nerve. Churning into him his hand pulled back to rest on her flesh and moved in a way he could put more pressure against her and began rocking between the sensitive area, a whimper of pleasure turning savage when she reared back meeting his thrusts.

" _How does that feel?"_ Kai uttered in a gruff voice into the crook her neck sending a chill down her spine that wrenched her into him, moaning out the answer.

" _Don't stop._ "

Cursing over her shoulder Bonnie's breath caught at the sudden fullness of two fingers wrapping around to push through her entrance and knees spread wide to accommodate them, her butt squeezing around his underside with the new angle. Kneading and twisting her nipples with his free hand Kai drove into her backside riding her out into an titillating fog but he had no idea of the tsunami that he was sure to cause from pushing against her limits to see how far he could get, Bonnie unsure herself of what they could get into before it was stopped.

Never been known for one who will use experimentation or ' _try new things'_ that she isn't invested in her heart thudded around like a jackhammer at the realization that she might just enjoy the feel of Kai taking her from behind and that he may not have been as out of his mind as she presumed, her thighs shaking in response. Stroking against him harder Bonnie could feel him shudder before snaking a hand up her stomach to drive her back into him and groaned out something jagged from within her abdomen.

" _I can feel how much you want this_."

" _So can I,"_ she retorted without missing a beat and swore on an exhale at his sharp thrust.

Circling his thumb around her clit Kai urged her into him, vibrating at the carnal remarks an inch away from her ear and let out a hoarse cry as the second wave of euphoria crashed down on her. Clutching her frame to his an unexpected groan boomed like a surround system from behind and let out a surprised wallop of pride at him coming undone – _now –_ when he wasn't inside of her. The knowledge of how badly he wants her that way had been known beforehand but up until this point Bonnie hadn't registered the upper-hand and _power_ she holds over him because of it.

"Did you just –"Bonnie began and crossed over thoughts, "but you weren't even-"

" _I am now_ ," Kai growled removing his fingers and driving forward to the hilt, choking on the moan caught in her throat.

Heaving forward his left arm curled around her neck holding onto the opposite shoulder and clawed restlessly at the fabric, wooden bar, and strings in an attempt to keep her grounded to something. Hearing a loud thud Bonnie turned enough to check over her shoulder and saw his right foot now planted on the floor on the edge of the hammock, the second noise signaling the other did the same. Rearing back Kai had full advantage over her movements from being more or less suspended on a cotton sheet and tightened his hold on her driving in deep.

Spurring him on farther with pleas of ' _harder'_ and ear-splitting shrills when he hit the right spot Bonnie's airway was cut off from his hand wrapping around her throat and yanked her backwards, plunging into her with vehemence. Unable to speak, and rapidly losing her strength, disorientation crashed over her and her eyes rolled back; the unchaste rhythmic slapping and risqué declarations being spewed to one another pushing her over the cliff at full speed. Broken fragments of a piercing scream tore through what limited air supply she had left and deflated into his grasp, Kai's fingers loosening a bit before she passed out.

Everything around them sounded far off in the distance as her system strained to come down from another invigorating incursion, eyes glued shut and wheezing through the rattling inside her chest. Kai was able to spin and readjust her onto his lap while putting in zero effort and mewled out softly at the immediate fullness being taking in farther than any other point in the night. Leaning back with his legs still over the sides her thighs rested on top of his dangling off as well as rolled forward, suctioning their fronts together from sweat.

Persistent kisses across her face forced open Bonnie's lids a crack and smiled feebly at his dilated pupils searching hers, one arm splashed across her backside as the other worked his fingers through her hair holding her close. The new position was beneficial for them both as the lightweight effect you get when you're floating in water worked on a hammock too and could flow back and forth between who wanted to take the lead, the skin on her cheeks tender and stinging after every slap from his hands. Pumping Kai at a steady speed with nails scratching in his hair and around his shoulders the haze in her skull was just beginning to clear when he called out her name – not in a sexual way – but like he was going to tell her something.

"Mm?" Bonnie mustered and honed her focus in on the grumble in his chest and way he squeezed his eyes shut before shaking his head.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"I'm not telling you when we're wasted," he reasoned through gritted teeth, groaning at her thighs clenching around him and leaned in to sit on his lap.

"Why not?"

"I want you to believe me."

Slowing her motions to a stop and running a palm down his chest Kai's erratic heartbeat brought her to a pause; the irregular pattern likely because of what they were in the middle of but mixed with the anxious expression he was sporting was causing her to take a closer look.

"I will."

Without knowing what was swirling around his mind, in that moment Bonnie was committed to her statement and would take whatever piece of information he has stored away as the truth. Rasping out in frustration Kai propelled forward thrusting into her vigorously, all of his pent-up aggression being channeled into the way he was rocking his hips. Shouting out his name to bring him back to the topic before she lost it too the vocalization only seemed to spur him on until she was gasping it into his ear.

Teeth grazing across his stubble Bonnie licked up his parted lips before rolling her tongue into his open mouth and let out a long exhale through her nose, limbs curling into him as her body slackened with tranquility. Any form of gentleness had taken a back seat as the fervency in Kai's kissing was fiery to the touch intoxicating her with impassioned fumes as he thrusted into her at a relentless pace nudging a bundle of nerves tucked far out of reach.

" _You're beautiful,_ " he whispered between their open mouths and didn't expect a giggle to bubble up in response, his teeth flashing brighter into a smile against her lips looking so seductive and _erotic._

"You really must be plastered," Bonnie remarked lightly in amusement, crooning at the abrupt jerk striking the same spot, " _so close… Kai…"_

Impelling into her pules of desire the head of Kai's shaft prodded against the overstimulated nerves working his whole body into it and held onto him with as much strength as she could muster before it was all drained out of her. It was as if a wound up coil had finally snapped inside her core releasing every ounce of energy in one violent surge, convulsing with aftershocks as Kai rolled into his second orgasm.

Sizzled out and borderline delirious Bonnie listened to the sounds of their heavy breathing and the feel of lips brushing across her skin to keep her anchored to the present and not drift away. Turning her nose into his Kai caught her mouth in a tender coaxing to restart her heart that fritzed out somewhere in that last leg of the triathlon, his leverage still able to get a rise out of her faint pulse.

"I know I've said this a few time before but tonight was _already_ on my ' _favorites'_ list, and then this happened, and-" Kai huffed out something between a scoff and laugh, " _wow._ You should be more vocal, that should happen… often."

"You like that?" she flirted with a smile stretching so wide her groggy lids closed and snickered sleepily at the low guttural reverberations coming from him in confirmation.

"Scarlet _stepped_ it _up_ , _tonight,_ " he overemphasized, grinning at the way she imagined him snapping his fingers in Z-formation.

"Hey Kai?"

"Hm?"

"What were you going to say before?" Bonnie inquired coercing him with a silky undertone feeling his face starting to pull back before opening her eyes. "Did something happen – is it bad? Is that why you don't want to tell me?"

"Way to jump the gun," Kai teased leaning back farther to disconnect them and she launched mounting herself on top of him.

"You're not leaving this hammock until you tell me your secret."

"Oh really?" he breathed and scooped underneath her thighs lifting them both with ease, glaring at the cheekiness etched on his face as he crossed the room lying them both out on the bed.

The instant her head hit the pillow Bonnie felt the heaviness settle over her eyelids, struggling to keep them open as he moved around her pulling down the covers and sliding her underneath. Slapping the switch on the wall the faint dim of light was snuffed out and curled into the body heat instinctively, fingers massaging her skull lulling her into a deep sleep.

"I'm going to remember this," she mumbled inaudibly and was passed out before she could register Kai's soft chuckle of doubt.


	39. Chapter 39

Kai could distinctly remember high school consisting of droning over the same topics in every subject, a little bit of tests and homework here and there, and overall feeling like he ' _owned_ ' the building no matter what grade he was in. What he didn't recall was all of the extracurricular activities and functioned events that seemed rather ordinary in the college life, as was the increase in schoolwork on and off the clock. Now that students were in a few months in the workload seemed to kick off into the steady rhythm of what the semester was going to consist of and he wasn't a fan of the personal time it's been taking away from him and Bonnie.

Since karaoke a few nights ago both of them have been swamped from diving in head first when neither have been in the swing of things of keeping up with a regular routine and schedule – one a hair longer than the other, and because of that has had a more strenuous time getting the hang of everything. Kai still spent most of his time at Sheila's and sleeps there regardless of what time it is when he shows up but on nights like this time slips away while his eyes race back and forth between a _Forensic Science_ book, notebook filled with scattered notes, and a laptop screen, perched in a swivel chair in the middle of his dorm room. The only thing that pulled him out of the zone was the chiming from his phone on the desk, brow lifting at Josette's name flashing on the screen with 10:42PM in the upper right-hand corner.

"Hey sissy, only a few days since you saw me last and missing me already? I'm touched."

"I wouldn't be too flattered. Where are you?"

"I'm at the dorm; why, what's up?"

"Okay good, I had to stop by the hospital before I called you so I'll be there in a minute, meet me at the door."

"Meet-" Kai began before the line disconnected and his home screen appeared, taking almost that amount of time to sit there looking perplexed before he put on his shoes and slipped a sweatshirt over his head heading for the main entrance. "Well this is a surprise."

"I'll say," Josette concurred slipping past him to get out of the drizzling weather, "I won't stay long, I just wanted to show you something."

Not wanting to get into it any farther until they were out of the public setting he led the way back to his room and plopped in the chair sliding halfway across the hardwood to the other side. "The floor is yours."

"I did a little digging after I saw you with Bonnie the other night to see if maybe your ' _bad feeling_ ' vibe was just because of how into her you are and I broke into dad's house while he was out today. I didn't know what I was looking for so I wasn't sure where to start but then I remembered his hiding place being in the closet at the old house and took a chance… and I found something. Tucked in a crawl space that's only big enough to fit your arm was a book of maybe ten pages and had ' _Gemini Coven Leader Handbook'_ written in calligraphy across the front.

"Handbook?" Kai repeated leaning onto his elbows with hands clasped, "I searched through every book in that house and I was never able to find his sacred ' _Rules of being a leader'_ fable."

"I hadn't either but it looked like the real deal; ancient, falling apart, and filled with restrictions."

"Like what?"

"I didn't want to risk him finding out that I discovered it so I didn't take it with me but I took pictures so you could see for yourself."

Handing over the cell phone with a giant touch screen Kai scrolled through the photos, zooming in and reading it out loud as he went. Half of the so called ' _rules'_ were ones that were common sense and followed without a second thought; a few examples being _no sacrificial ceremonies within the coven, no attempting to give your magic away to another member, no acts endangering or exposing the coven,_ and his absolute favorite - _no interfering with the new potential leaders._ It was when he reached the part about marital statuses that things began to take a turn.

"The leader of the Gemini Coven is responsible not only for the lives and wellbeing of the current members but must also prepare for the future of the coven as well. The leader must marry within the other five potential bloodlines to keep the circle pure and strong; the only exception being to wed a mortal whose powers will not conflict with their own. The potential threat of another witch's magic coming into contact and infusing with a Gemini's can result in consequences as monumental as the total collapse of the coven."

"Yeah they really didn't sugarcoat it for you."

"I could _obliterate_ the coven if I don't marry a human or a Gemini? But everyone I know looks like you on the inside, and the rest… shit, do you think that's why he brought up Anna and getting closer to her?"

"I… wouldn't put that past him," Josette nodded looking like she just put it together too.

"But why hide this? Some of it is vital information that I should probably know so I don't accidentally wipe us out of existence."

"Maybe he was nervous about how you'd react and was testing out the waters of how you feel about Bonnie."

"Well that would have been the opportune time to slide this across the coffee table because I would have told him it doesn't matter. Bon is still building up her tolerance of me and we've only been together a few months, _marriage talk_ is a serious leap. I've never even thought about it up until this moment of hearing that I'm supposedly not allowed to – which peaks my interest – but doesn't answer the inquisition; why keep this from me. I mean _me_ , the guy he said was incapable of feeling anything."

"And then asked if you were in love with Bonnie, which…"

"She's about to turn twenty-one; she's not thinking that far ahead. I wasn't planning that much in advance either but if I _had_ been than not telling me has put everyone else in danger. And what does ' _the total collapse'_ mean; that we'd all turn into individual witches or lose our powers altogether?"

"I'm going to assume the latter."

"Then this doesn't make sense," Kai grumbled sending the photos to his phone before handing hers over, "but like I said this isn't an imminent threat that we have to worry about, so don't stress it."

"You're not going to tell her?" his sister put together making him chuckle.

"And give her another reason to freak out over us? No, I'll pass on that. Giving Bon any shadow of doubt about me is what I've been trying to avoid and I have an inkling that nugget of data will hinder some major progress I've made. But I appreciate you going there for me, even more so since you found things I should have been made aware of."

"Don't get used to it," Josette murmured with half a smile, her tell that she didn't mean what she was saying and mimicked her expression. "But I got to get home before Ric wonders if I crashed the car since my usual twenty minute drive has taken over an hour."

"I'll walk you out."

Closing the laptop and grabbing his keys Kai followed his twin through the building and out the entrance to the parking lot, thanking her again for still looking out for him and cracked up at the scowl in response. Making it back to the house in a blur he didn't understand why he was racing back if he had no intention of filling Bonnie in on the knowledge he's just learned until he walked through the front door to her curled up with a blanket in the corner of the couch. The house was encased in darkness, the only light coming from the TV screen irradiating her soft features being blissfully asleep.

Examining her as he inched closer it dawned on Kai that his impulses brought him here in a haze not because of needing to tell her something, but simply because he wanted to see her. As soon as blips of data trickled through his subconscious that there was a threatening remark against their relationship he felt compelled to be by her side and block it all out; his obstinate mind unyielding to the possibility of a bump in the road that could screw up what they have going now. But all in all there was no sense in burdening Bonnie with something that he can't change and isn't _that_ big of a deal, considering all of the setbacks they've had to endure up until this point.

Glancing at the scattered books across the coffee table Kai crouched in between it and the couch and ran his hand down the blanket, curling his fingers around hers. Nuzzling his nose against hers a faint hum vibrated from her throat into his chest when their lips touched, a soft smile and groggy eyes gazing back at him.

 _"_ _Hey, sleepy-Bon._ Are you slacking on your duties?"

"I'm taking a much-needed break from all things ' _fashion'_ for the remainder of the night. Would you like to join?"

"I think it'd be easier if you accompanied me to the bedroom instead," Kai quipped wiggling his eyebrows exaggeratingly before dropping the jokester act. "You look wiped."

"I just woke up, what do you expect?"

"Nothing short of stunning, and you never disappoint," he responded lifting Bonnie's hand to kiss the back of it and pulled her to her feet, turning off the TV and shuffling down the hall.

Neither spoke as they went through the routine of stripping down in their exhausted and overworked state and slipped under the covers getting entangled in each other. Bonnie's lids stayed glued while she reached for him raking her nails across his back and he stretched, engulfing her in his arms.

"How was your day?" came out hot and muffled against Kai's neck and loosened his grip a fraction to give her more breathing room.

"It was alright, pretty boring. What about you?"

"Strenuous," she puffed curling into him more, "you know… I almost missed you."

The grin was plastered across his face before Bonnie could even finish her sentence and thrummed out a sound of delight looking down his nose at her. "I almost missed you too."

Snorting drowsily her lips curved at his response and Kai ducked his head pecking at one of the corners, resting his forehead against hers and lulling his eyes shut. Sleep wasn't necessarily what he had on his mind – among other specifics – but with any luck coercing his subconscious to take over until it's a new day will ease it from any other surprise attacks that may be around the corner.

-x—x—x—x—x—x-

 _What started off as a barely perceptible rhythmic banging began to amplify until the sound was so deafening that my temples pounded to the beat, eyes slicing open to the ceiling illuminated by the open window. Lolling my head to the right Bonnie's face was pressed into my bicep and was still in a state of slumber, the knocking darting my eye-line to the open bedroom door leading to the hallway. Easing out from the covers and slipping on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Bon was still asleep and crossed the house in less than ten steps ready to see who this insufferable door-to-door salesman was that was bothering me at this time._

 _"_ _Hello, Malachai."_

 _"_ _Why?" I questioned in a suspicious tone knitting by brows together, hands outstretched between the door and open frame staring down my father. "Isn't it a little early to be breaking doors in?"_

 _"_ _I presumed you would be here," he nodded once with formality taking a step closer, "but I'm not here to see you."_

 _"_ _Well that's funny," I remarked flashing a cheeky grin and copied his movement shutting the door behind me, "because I'm the only one here."_

 _"_ _Son, Miss Bennett's life is bound to mine; I'll always be able to find out where she is. And right now she's in this residence."_

 _"_ _Is that so?" I pondered cursing internally with a clenched jaw, it never occurring to me that if he had some fused bond with her then he could track her like GPS. "Your own personal Bonnie-detector; any way I can get in on some of that?"_

 _"_ _It doesn't appear that you need to wonder where she is too often. Now are you going to invite me in, or should I just show myself?"_

 _"_ _I guess that depends on why you need to see her," I stated leaning to rest my upper back against the door._

 _It's a private matter between her and me."_

 _The piercing sound a buzzer makes when you guess incorrectly protruded from my mouth and crossed my arms, head tilting to and fro. "Ooh that answer doesn't appear to be on the board, care to venture another?"_

 _"_ _Are you trying to protect her – from me?" Dad asked striking emphasis on the last note, lifting my brows in response._

 _"_ _And why would that surprise you? You kidnapped her when I left her alone for five minutes."_

 _"_ _Because I'm the safest person Bonnie can be around right now; as long as I'm okay, so is she. It's you that worries me."_

 _"_ _Here we go again; 'evil Malachai and his quest to vanquish everyone: the sequel'. Or maybe it would be a trilogy by this point with one 'killer' twist if you think I would hurt that girl."_

 _"_ _Because you love her," he stated as a matter of fact lifting the side of his mouth into what I could only describe as a snarl, "but how does she feel, is she in love with you too? And the more pressing matter, do you really believe that she won't hurt you?"_

 _"_ _Oh I've had my fair share of run-ins with the wrong end of her magical backhand; I know exactly what she's capable of."_

 _"_ _Do you?" his self-righteous tone resonated deep in my bones and limbs stiffened feeling a flush of uncertainty, like for the first time I wasn't the smartest guy in the room and was missing a key piece of data. "I need to speak with Miss Bennett."_

 _"_ _So you've told me, and yet my response remains the same."_

 _"_ _This doesn't concern you."_

 _"_ _I find that highly unlikely if it has to do with my father and my girl-" I stopped short, impassiveness being shielded over me like a mask at the slipup and sighed, no point in not finishing my train of thought. "So color me concerned, and consider me the bouncer of this here hotspot. Only the way to pay me off is through information that you just so happen to possess. For starters, I know you aren't trying to imply you're here to do me any favors because that would be a first. So why question how she feels about me?"_

 _"_ _There are things that you don't know about."_

 _"_ _You mean like secrets you keep locked away? Then why don't you fill me in."_

 _"_ _Another time."_

 _"_ _We don't seem to be busy with anything else right now," I reasoned with a smirk that was wiped away when my dad stepped left towards the doorknob. "You would have a better chance of going through me than getting by me, pops."_

 _"_ _So be it," he remarked briskly and lifted a hand cracking it down, shouting out and looking down to a red-streaked slash mark cutting across the gray cotton over my torso._

 _Getting prepared to administer another I roared out something filled with ferocity and thrust both palms into his chest, the zap of power blowing the ex-leader twenty feet off of the porch and onto the concrete walkway with an ear-splitting 'crack'._

 _"_ _Dad?"_

 _Jumping over the three steps and running down to his still body the blood pooling out from the back of his head made me stop in my tracks. Turning into a sprint towards the house I went crashing through the front door knocking over things in the hallway as I reared into the room skidding over to Bonnie's side of the bed._

 _"_ _Bonnie, wake up! Hey show me your eyes, please," I begged gripping her biceps to shake them, "No no no no – I didn't mean to – it was an accident. Fuck. Bon, please… wake up. Come on – come back; BONNIE!"_

 _Shouting out terrified ramblings to take back the last minute and a half my voice came out tight and strained from my throat closing and squeezed my eyes feeling a sharp burning behind them. Ripping them open my vision blurred with tears and shook them away pulling Bonnie up by the arms, frozen at the sight of her pillowcase coated in blood._

 _Tugging her forward a sob escaped when I examined the gash in the back of her skull and blood-soaked hair matted into it. Putting my palm over the open wound I choked out any incantation I could think of that came with a possibility of bringing Bonnie back, sounding more frantic when each spell came to no avail. Shifting her onto my lap I crushed her into my chest with my hand still in place and rocked back and forth, hopeless._

 _"_ _Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up…" I chanted until the words wouldn't come out anymore, every inch of me shaking violently until an agonized scream tore through my throat causing the room to come crashing down around me._

-x—x—x-

A bellow filled with pure devastation put Bonnie on red-alert before she was fully conscious of what was going on; the overwhelming urge to throw up from her heart jumping into her throat blended with the ' _fight or flight'_ instinct had her pulse going a mile a minute. Scrambling to sit up Kai heaved forward coughing through his breathless inhales and she could see him gripping the center of his chest through the darkness.

"Kai, what happened?" Bonnie asked softly hearing the shakiness in her voice and jerked her head back at him whipping his in her direction, scooping her up into his lap so her legs dangled over one side and buried his face in her neck. A pile of questions were on the tip of her tongue when she noticed Kai was shaking – more specifically, _trembling_ , and she could feel it through every inch of his body.

" _Bad dream_ ," rumbled lowly into her skin and huffed out a wheeze from how tightly he was squeezing her.

"Tell me about it," she whispered rubbing the back of his skull and down his spine, "I thought I heard you say ' _wake up'_."

"I did, I-" he muttered and pulled his face back so Bonnie could get a good look at his flushed cheeks, wild eyes, parted lips, and an aura of unmitigated anguish. "I was with my dad. We were just talking… it's nothing. It was just a dream. You look nervous, did I scare you? I'm sorry, I'm – I'm just going to jump in the shower for a minute maybe the cold water will help."

Before she could disagree Kai slid her onto the mattress and stood making quick strides across the bedroom and out the door. Mouth stuck open from all of the unspoken questions she wasn't able to get out Bonnie sat there dumbfounded as to what the hell just happened in the last three minutes. Kai hasn't had a single nightmare since they got out of 1994 and the only reason he was having them was because Joshua was getting in his head to possess him, and the time before that was when he was only just a child so it seems rather far-fetched that he would get one of the blue.

What makes it equally suspicious as it does convincing is that he said he was dreaming _of his dad_ and that the two of them were ' _just talking_ ' which is a vague description of the cruelty of what that statement could entail. But what kind of conversation could end with Kai screaming the both of them awake, unless he was downplaying it, and the reasoning for this time was the same as the last – he was being tortured.

Padding across the room Bonnie stripped out of her bra and panties dropping them along the way and peeled back the curtain a bit getting a full view of his backside. Kai's arms were outstretched with his palms flat against the wall and head hung low out of sight, the showerhead aimed at his neck and shoulders. Sneaking one foot in behind the other she eased closer to his rigid frame radiating with tension and paused when her fingers were an inch away from him; the howl of torment ringing in her ears propelling her into his back and wrapped her arms around his ribs.

" _So cold!_ " Bonnie shrieked stumbling back a step at the icy frost of not just the water but from the touch of his chilled skin, her own breaking out in goosebumps.

Going in for attempt two when Kai didn't stir she cautiously leaned in starting with her hands and massaged his mid and lower back, breathing in deep from the impact of pressing her average temperature body heat against his state of hypothermia. Getting struck with tremors Bonnie's shaking frame curled around his tighter and his torso shifted with a cascade of heat pouring down on them a few seconds later. Kai's muscles inflated with a hard inhale and let it slowly, turning to face her in the same motion shielding her from being sprayed.

Letting him take the lead hands slid across Bonnie's ribs spreading wide across her back and lolled his head forward resting his cheek against hers, the embrace warm and soothing in comparison to the one she just received. Gritting her teeth she internally cursed to anyone who would listen to her mini rant on how she feels about Joshua Parker; the unfiltered tete-a-tete only fueling up her already fevered mind with segments on why one man has made his way to the very top of the list of who she dislikes most, managing to make it there in record time.

Even if it was a dream and Kai knew none of it was real… he saw something. Bonnie could see it in his eyes when he first looked at her; an expression that made her stomach turn and get clammy with cold sweats. Whatever he saw and momentarily had to endure triggered an emotion flooding it to the surface that she was certain he hasn't had much experience in dealing with before; fear. The terror that was in his voice and on his face filled Bonnie with such dread she was wary she was going to be sick, building hypotheticals of what could cause such a physical reaction out of him.

Rolling his cheek on hers Kai's lips brushed her jaw and her lids fluttered closed feeling the charge from his mouth travel across her skin, the soft pecks being planted leisurely all over her face. The intensity and hunger that Bonnie can feel when he kisses her, no matter how brief or intimate, is something that she was certain Kai wasn't able to shut off or was unconsciously aware that he exuded since it was always present… until this moment.

Sliding her tongue over his Bonnie didn't get that thrill like when you're going over the hill on a rollercoaster that generally occurs when she tastes that spark between them, but a warmth blooming in its place instead. The gentle caresses were unhurried and filled with their usual essence of affection as his hand wandered making its way up into her hair and curled his fingers back against her skull, a brutal shudder through his body shaking the both of them.

Puffing out a breath against their parted lips her lids opened to Kai's squeezed shut and leaned back a fraction shifting her line of view to the unconcealed worry line between his eyebrows. Pulling her arm out from under his her thumb smoothed it out while ironically taking on the same expression as her apprehension kicked up a notch seeing the fresh distress swimming around the pools of blue when they connected with hers.

Desperate to come up with something to wipe that look off of him Bonnie hugged him so tight she was wary that she could crack a few of his ribs but he didn't seem to mind, holding her to him like she was his very own safety blanket. They stayed that way until the water turned to hail against her hands and his backside, reaching blindly to turn the handle and leaned her upper half back frowning at Kai's glum appearance. Pecking smooches up his neck and face she slid her hands around holding his and used them as balance to step over the side heading to the linen closet in the hallway for towels, drying off and wrapping up accordingly.

"So, what's next?"

"Go back to sleep, Bon, it's the middle of the night. I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about it. Are you staying up?"

"I just want to hang out here for a few."

"Okay," Bonnie let out with hesitation, her instincts telling her to stay with him but her intuition signaling that he wants to be alone, "but if you're not back in five minutes I'm coming to get you."

"Okay," Kai remarked with huff that sounded _almost_ like a laugh but missing the key feature of a smile, kissing his cheek on her way around him back the bedroom.

Weighing an internal battle of which road she should go down the adrenaline from jolting awake had worn off with the steamy hot shower and ripples of drowsiness began rolling in dragging her under. Dropping the towel Bonnie crawled under the covers and checked her phone's front screen reading 4:27AM, just conscious enough to set an alarm for five minutes before her head hit the pillow.

When she was able to pry her lids open again she shot upright at the room brightened by sunlight, hitting the phone to see over two hours had passed and was still alone in her bed. Throwing on a loose stray t-shirts against the crisp morning air Bonnie shuffled through the house turning right into the living room and soughed out disquietedly. Hunched forward with his elbows on his knees and hands in his hair she couldn't tell if Kai had fallen asleep that way or was just lost in thought, neither option appealing to her and crossed the room kneeling on the couch beside him.

" _Hey,_ " she whispered grazing her nails down his arm and Kai inhaled sharply, lifting his head and swiveling it to her too panicky for her liking.

"That was a long five minutes."

"I'll say," Bonnie agreed lifting a corner of her mouth, nails running up and down his inner forearm. "Come back to bed."

Mimicking her half smile Kai's lids seemed to have ten pound weights attached to them because he could not seem to keep them open no matter how hard he tried, and he was certainly putting forth the effort. Inclining to the back cushions Bonnie was led onto his lap and swung one leg over, his grip holding her in place as he moved around until he was lying down resting his head on the armrest. Flattening every limb onto his and stretching out to get comfortable her thighs kept rubbing against the towel irritating her skin and contemplated how intelligent the notion is to remove it when neither are wearing any undergarments for protection.

Seeing Kai act so withdrawn and quiet brought Bonnie right back those days in the Salvatore mansion watching him pull away from her and recede into a darker version of himself that his father was able to use to his benefit. The most substantial change between then and now is how much more she has grown to care for him which inevitably bumps up her concern for his wellbeing as well, the two ganging up on her making her spiral when they clash over something. The despair etched on his face was a look Bonnie hasn't seen since glimpsing through his memories and even then his pre-merge self caused him to think and react to things in a disparate manner.

"What can I do?" broke through the thick air of silence and Kai's hands crossed over her back underneath the shirt anchoring her to him.

"Just stay with me."

Bonnie's eyebrows darted up her forehead at the response she was not expecting, her ribcage feeling like it was closing in around her organs making it difficult to get in any oxygen. Trailing up his torso Kai's would recede from view every few seconds before flashing open to the ceiling and down to her. It took her a few minutes to put together that it wasn't just about him not wanting to sleep, but that he could still see whatever his dream was when he closed his eyes.

"It'll be easier for you to fall asleep in a bed than on a couch," Bonnie implored resting her chin on his chest and tilting from side to side waiting for him to answer, "or we could talk."

"Go ahead, I'll listen," he muttered groggily, for all intents and purposes as a distraction to stay up.

"Okay. Once upon a time there was a boy locked away in an _Underworld_ , and when he finally got close to escaping he was plagued with night terrors by an evil warlock pent up on keeping him trapped. Barely making it out alive the dreams vanished without a trace… until now."

"You referred to me as a boy, that's cute," Kai commented after a stretch of stillness and her body deflated with a sigh on top of his, "and it was so suspenseful; you're a great storyteller."

"Kai, are you okay?" Bonnie asked bluntly, skirting past the playful attempt at easing her mind and one hand slipped out of her shirt and into her hair rubbing at the back of her skull.

"I'm okay, Bon, it was just a weird onetime dream."

"Then why do you still look so spooked?"

"Caught me by surprise?" he shrugged opening his eyes a sliver with the effort of his raised eyebrows.

"Kai-"she began and stopped short taking in his worn-out state, "let's just go to bed, you'll feel better in the morning."

"Technically it _is_ morning," Kai pointed out and she snorted at the true statement.

"Yeah but there needs to be a solid length of hours slept before you can refer to it as the next day."

"This is true."

"So come on," Bonnie urged leaning back to sit on his lap and pulled his heavy torso up with her, pecking at his mouth a few times before standing.

Lacing her fingers through his they drudged back to the room at the end of the hall and Kai shamelessly dropped his towel at the bedside before sliding under the covers naked. Biting the inside of her cheek she pulled the t-shirt over her head and crawled over to him getting flipped to her back under his weight. Digging his face into her neck Bonnie's knees pressed into his hips dragging her feet between his thighs to press his front flush against hers.

With each exhale Kai's body became more languid with fatigue and caressed his back feeling his heartbeat in her palm slowing down to a steady rhythm. Grazing the beginning of the slashed scar near his right shoulder blade she prayed that his assumption that this was a onetime thing was true, and that he wasn't playing off the severity of what he saw to keep Bonnie in the dark. Humming the _Dirty Dancing_ song they sang together the other night softly to clear her mind she smiled at Kai's muscular frame taking on the persona of being small and cuddly by the way he shambles around and nuzzles into her.

"Sweet dreams, Kai," Bonnie whispered when she knew he had fully drifted off, turning her face into his and following his lead.


	40. Chapter 40

"You have to promise me that nothing I tell either of you will ever leave this room," Bonnie demanded in a stern tone sticking out both pinkies with crossed wrists held out in front of her, "and I mean the _real_ way."

"Ooh this is serious," Caroline squeaked like she had just heard the juiciest information and leaped onto Elena's twin-size bed entwining their fingers, followed by Elena.

"Cross my heart."

"And hope to die."

" _Stick a needle in my eye!"_ The two chanted the same way they made promises to each other when they were kids and all chuckled at the old tradition.

"Although technically it would be ' _stick a stake through my heart'_ for it to be politically correct, but I'll stick to what we know," Care commented scooping up a pint of vanilla ice cream and a spoon, "and seeing how you were supposed to spend the entire day with us and now that you're here it's dark out I think it's only fair you spill the beans on some ' _Bon-Kai behind the sexy curtain'_."

"Okay first off never repeat that to Kai, _especially_ the nickname that he'll think he coined as our label. And secondly, the reason why I'm just getting here has to do with what I want to talk about anyway. Kai had a nightmare last night."

"Okay," Elena drawled after a minute, eyes darting from one friends confusion to the other.

"So I wasn't exactly open about what he's had to go through since it isn't my place to tell but I have a bad feeling so I need to talk about it. I told you before that he suffered night terrors when he was a kid because of a spell from his dad to toughen him up and from the same person while in the prison world to weaken him from within. Both times he's screamed awake and in a panic and at least from what I've seen looks… scared, and defenseless. Other than the average nightmare here and there Kai's never had dreams like that out of the blue – there's always a reason – and last night he had another."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me," Bonnie admitted looking at her clasped hands between her crossed legs. "But I know he was talking to his dad in it."

"Why wouldn't he tell you?" Elena pressed and she bit the inside of her cheek impulsively, the same question rolling through her mind all night and day.

"Maybe he was just shaken up and didn't want to get into it right after," Caroline offered through a mouthful of ice cream, "depending on what he saw it'd make sense."

"But _what did he see?_ " Bonnie annunciated huffing on the last word. "When Kai was thirteen he went through a year of watching Jo die in a variety of inventive and particularly horrendous ways by Joshua to get him to see what his inevitable future was."

" _Jesus_ ," Elena muttered.

"He hid away in a treehouse to not wake her up if he wasn't staying up all night, until they finally stopped."

"I'm sure that didn't help steer the budding sociopath in the right direction," Care joked trying to ease the tension when she gets uncomfortable, "but I didn't know it was like that for him. Before I noticed the scar I would have assumed Kai was the type that ' _couldn't_ ' be harmed because of his giant ego keeping him safe like a shield."

"Oh he's still got that up but it's more on the _defensive side_ than offensive and seems to have a weak spot that the ex-leader knows how to slide through. When he was able to get in Kai's head the second time he plagued him with abusive memories that were physically affecting him and he got moody, distant… angry. And I'm not talking ' _Bonnie why won't you talk to me?'_ upset but hallucinating relatives, punching mirrors, and disappearing for eighteen hours at a time types of tantrums. Kai's been upfront and honest with me since we first met but when things get rocky he works double time to play it off like everything's fine and keeps more to himself."

"So how was he when he woke up?"

Bonnie frowned before she could respond, the frightened look in his eyes burned into her mind. "Quiet. Not at first, he jolted awake like a cannonball with a yell that sounded like he was being tortured and that's when he told me he had a dream he was talking to his dad in. But then he cut himself off and left to take a shower so I followed expecting him to either say he wanted to be alone or make his usual cheeky remarks, but he just held me. After he wanted to sit out in the living room for a few minutes so I went back to bed for a couple hours and found him hunched over with his hands in his hair like he was trying to stay awake. When I questioned him again he brushed it off and said he was fine."

"But you don't believe him," Elena finished her thought, adding in one of her own, "it _was_ just one dream though, Bon. Maybe-"

"Kai found out where his dad was two weeks ago and went to talk to him about taking the binding spell off of me."

"He did?" Caroline raised an octave higher, "and why am I just hearing about this now? What happened?"

"Joshua said ' _he'd think about it'_ , whatever that means. But now this is happening, and whenever bad things happen to Kai his dad is the one behind it. I don't know much else about what they said other than that he was supposedly very convincing and Jo went there with him."

"You should ask her about it – or _you_ could casually bring it up during one of your shifts together," Care suggested looking from Bonnie to Elena, lifting the half-eaten pint up in offering. "' _So your brother and dad; there's a doozy, huh? Speaking of which, how did things go with them when you both went to see him? Any voodoo hexes or magical herbs dropped in Kai's tea?'"_

"He wouldn't drink anything his dad offered," she said knowingly, the last half of the sentence very contrastive, "but something else must have happened when he was there. Whether he did it or said it subconsciously, I think Joshua picked up on it."

"Bon-Bon I think being with a guy who's so paranoid and I'm guessing filled with conspiracy theories has rubbed off on you – and that's okay, because after what you just told us I'm looking at Kai in a whole new way now. But I think that, maybe, the nightmare triggered what you went through while you were trapped there and brought up all of those skeptic and heightened emotions."

"This isn't PTSD Care, trust me I know the difference. I'm just worried."

"Is he?" Elena questioned, tilting her head when Bonnie didn't answer. "Then just take a breath. As soon as your boyfriend starts freaking out you have full justification to do the same and rub it in our faces that we're wrong. But as of _this moment_ you are reported to push those wary thoughts far from your mind and focus on the biggest responsibility there is."

"And what's that?"

"Your birthday!" The girls shrilled bouncing their butts off the bed and dancing around.

"You know, only the single most important day of your entire lifetime – when you become a _legal, twenty-one year old adult._ I'm so proud," Care fake sniffed leaning into their friend's shoulder, "it seems like just the other day we were using our fake ID's to buy drinks."

"Because we _were_ , karaoke night ring a bell?"

"With clarity; but while Elena and I will always have a license that doesn't have our real ages on it you get to turn twenty-one and go out and feel that rush of triumph that we've been talking about since middle school! And you're the littlest baby duckling to hatch which makes it an even _more momentous_ deal. Does Kai know it's tomorrow?"

"If you're asking if he knows what day specifically is my birthday, then yes."

"But it never came up in conversation today why we were rushing you out of the house all day or why you're sleeping here?" Caroline wondered and lids turned into slits when she didn't respond. "You didn't tell him that either?"

"Care," Bonnie puffed, twisting at her fingers, "I know it's tradition for us to all have sleepovers the night before so we can bring in the day together, but we're older now. I would be able to stay _past_ midnight without having to stay, per say."

"You really don't want to?" Elena asked visibly deflating, pulling at her heartstrings.

"I do, you both know that, it's just – it sounds stupid but I don't want to leave him alone. After the way he looked last night… I just want to be there with him."

"Not stupid, just… _really_ inconvenient timing," Care embellished flaunting a frown with her bottom lip popped out, "and he gets you all the time. I just miss you, that's all."

"We both do."

"Well there's no need to miss me anymore, I'm back and better than ever," Bonnie pepped optimistically with a smile, "and we're going to be with each other all day tomorrow so you won't even have time to notice I'm gone while you're sleeping."

"I guess," Elena murmured and she slid out her phone to text Kai letting him know she'd be back by 12:30 at the latest which he responded with ' _how mysterious'_ before his name popped up in the center of the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey 007, what's going on?"

"Nothing, what do you mean?"

"I mean how come there's a time stamp on when I should be expecting you back?" Kai specified and put him on speaker after her friend's incessant requests.

"Because that's the time I decided I was coming home."

"Any reason in particular?" he asked lightly and Bonnie felt ridiculous saying ' _because tomorrow's my birthday so I have to stay past midnight'_ so instead she evaded the truth.

"No."

"Because your friend's seemed pretty eager to get you out of here for you to already be planning your escape. Everything okay?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question, actually." Bonnie admitted softly and stared down listening to him chortle through the receiver.

"Oh so _that's_ why you're telling me when you'll be back. I am _fine,_ Bon, and I'll remain that way even while you're away."

"I never said that you wouldn't, I – are you really going to argue you don't want me there?"

"Now did anything I say remotely revolve around that statement? Don't be silly, I just want you to have a good night. But you are adorable when you worry about me," Kai finished and she could hear the smile in his tone, cheeks blazing with the girl's full attention trained on her. "Relax and enjoy your ' _girl's night_ ', say hi to the third place runner-up for me."

Bubbles of laughter spilled out of her at Caroline's expression switching from doting to savage in a millisecond, mouth pursed and eyes averted like he could somehow see that she was giving him the cold shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Elena quizzed once she ended the call and stared down at the default faceless person in the call log where their photo ID generally goes.

"About what tomorrow is, or that I'm supposed to be sleeping here? One would have blended into the next and he would have told me to stay because he knows I'd be going back for him."

"I think he knows that anyway so the justification behind it certainly would have done him in. Well then I guess we need to make these next couple hours jam-packed with fun."

And packed it was, crammed full with conversation, music, food, and laughter. They had just gotten to the Spring Fling in _Mean Girls_ when a loud pounding against the door scared Bonnie out of her skin.

" _Seriously!"_ Caroline exclaimed jumping off the bed followed close behind, eyes widening at four grown men dressed as if they had just walked out of the fifties in their red and white striped barber shop jacket, white pants, a red bowtie, fedora, and cane.

The instant Bonnie made eye contact with the man standing a step in front of the others they all started harmoniously singing together in a beautiful acapella melody. The dance moves were without a doubt from the same decade, as was the tune of the song and her smile stretched from ear to ear until the very last shake of jazz hands. Applauding the performance she was about to ask which one thought up this number when the quartet parted and Kai walked in between them.

"You really expected me to not know what tomorrow is?" he interrogated with a smirk sliding his hand behind her and leaning down giving Bonnie one of his tenderer kisses. "Happy birthday."

"Damn it, he still beat us to it! Happy birthday!" Caroline said at lightning speed with the intent to get it out before Elena could, begrudgingly saying it last.

"Thank you – all of you. I figured you'd remember but I was going to wait and tell you when I got home."

"That's half of why I'm here," he added as the band dispersed and rested a shoulder against the doorframe sliding his other hand down her arm to entwine their fingers. "I seem to recall you having some sort of ' _slumber party tradition_ ' three times a year to celebrate the days you all were brought into this world. I've got to say I'm pretty underwhelmed glancing over the snacks and entertainment department. I was expecting a cake, too."

"They're in cupcake form," Caroline clarified tossing a thumb over her shoulder to the table, "double chocolate."

"Just how I like it," Kai winked and Bonnie's skin scorched, overheated.

"When did I tell you about that?"

"When you were all mopey over missing Caroline's big day and Elena's had already passed so you grazed vaguely over what you were missing out on."

"Oh right, I drank my sorrows away on that one."

"But now here you are – and there they stand… hovering behind you staring at me and you didn't have to see your birthday pass by too without them, so stay here tonight."

"Why?" Bonnie questioned in a knee-jerk reaction, blips of last night resurfacing.

"To spend the night with your friends?" he said arching his eyebrow with the corner of his mouth just barely lifting. "Besides I don't want you to be a big ol' sad sack again and this is a sure fire way to keep you happy."

"Yeah, but-"Bonnie paused, struggling with how to express she was still worried about him without actually saying it. "What about you?"

"I'll be sitting on Sheila's couch kicking Sui Yakamori's ass in Call of Duty; that twelve year-old is going down."

"Finally talking to people your own age – good for you," Caroline remarked and the corner of Kai's lip curved, eyes flicking over Bonnie's head to her friend and back down.

"Do you want me to come by in the morning or do you need to stop at the house?"

"I have to shower first and find an outfit for the day."

" _Two_ changes of wardrobe," Elena corrected ticking them off on her finger, "your casual wear for the day, and your night on the town slinky number for when the light go down."

"Mmm can't wait for that one," he hummed with amusement and she squeezed his hand tighter, his cheery smile being clouded with a vivid image of him looking so torn. "I'll get you in the morning."

"Are you sure?" she asked in a hushed tone, inching in to close the gap between them and his eyes softened, tilting his head a fraction and reaching up to hold the side of her neck.

"Enjoy the night with your friends, I'll be anxiously awaiting your arrival like a typical stalker back in your bedroom," Kai poked fun at and she laughed out the uneasiness, muscles relaxing with it when he pulled her in for a hug and a peck on the lips. "Night Bon, night vamps."

"Night warlock."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Bonnie's friends played along and he slipped back down the hallway and turned out of sight, blowing out a breath before closing the door to face her audience.

"So here you are all worked up over leaving Kai alone and that he's an emotional wreck and in he strolls looking as chipper as always, _telling_ _you_ to spend the night with us and not be such a worry-wart."

"Yeah that was a curveball," Elena nodded in agreement and snorted out a sound of hilarity after a moment of silence, "but I will never forget that performance by those guys. Where do you think he even found them?"

"One of his many mysteries, I'm sure. And he's had a full day to master his impassively carefree go-to expression so don't read too much into it."

"Well now you get to spend the whole night with us – yaaay!" Caroline hooted with her hands in the air doing a twirl and making her way back to the bed. "Although I am sorry we're keeping you from the birthday sex."

"Well that only took you thirty seconds after he walked away," Elena commented with a rue grin and lifted a shoulder, "besides this is tradition."

"And that has been the one setback I've discovered along the way – and this is Bonnie's twenty-first! It's a big deal. And the other guy she was dating when her special day rolled around was Jeremy so it's not like I could bring up anything then. But now we are older – some more figuratively than others – and are more mature and can discuss things of the sexual nature."

"Ooh don't put it like that," her other friend cringed, "especially when my little brother's name was mentioned somewhere in there."

"Okay fine, you don't have to tell _Saint Elena_ anything but I want to hear all of the sexy details, got it?" Caroline said with steeliness in her tone that was completely unwarranted over the topic at hand that made Bonnie crack up.

"Yeah, you got it."

Falling back in to the conversation the three spent the next three hours talking, watching TV, and munching on desserts until the waves of drowsiness were too much to stay up against and crawled in next to Caroline to get comfortable. While Bonnie couldn't be happier that her wish from last year came true and she was getting to spend this one with the people she loves, there was still a pang of guilt gnawing at her over Kai and wondered if she was spending the night in the right place after all.

xx

Bonnie opted out of having Kai pick her up hoping he would be able to sleep longer and had Caroline drop her off on the way to Stefan's in the morning. Expecting to open the front door to a dormant house at 10AM her jaw unhinged and dropped to the floor when her senses were immediately overpowered by the sight and smell of roses.

Bouquets of varying shades of reds, pinks, and white were placed everywhere she turned; up the stairs, down the hall, scattered throughout the living room and all throughout her room topped off with sprinkles across her bed. Hearing the water shut off Bonnie raced into the bathroom without knocking just as Kai was wrapping the towel around his waist, eyes widening when his head turned in her direction.

"Wasn't I supposed to be picking you up?" Crossing the room swiftly her body barreled into his with such force he grunted and staggered back, encircling her waist to steady himself laughing against her lips. "Well that's a nice hello."

"So was the flower shop I just walked into," Bonnie replied feeling the smile stretching across her face, "you know you're a little nutty, right?"

"About you," he said without missing a beat and went back in for an impassioned kiss, her heart strangely swelling at the cheesy sentiment. "Did you like it? I wanted to see your reaction."

"Kai there must be over fifty vases out there all holding their own dozen or two roses."

"Roughly, I mean I didn't count but it's a thousand single stemmed roses so you can do what you will with that math equation," Kai stated in nonchalance and a squeak of shock slipped from the back of her throat, the calculations of how much it must have cost escalating into digits that she doesn't even have in her bank account. "I wanted you to start off the day right."

"With courtship and a romantic gesture – very effective," Bonnie agreed leaning in and his arms curled around her shoulders tighter.

" _Two gestures_ , if we're getting technical," he murmured and her eyebrows drew in peering up. " _Oh_ , did you not go in the kitchen? Good, then lead the way."

Curiosity winning over the two zipped out of the bathroom taking a sharp left into the kitchen and stomach grumbled at the delicious scents that were drowned out by the floral pungency. The counter was lined with bowls of fruit, wrapped up plates, a pile of bacon on a paper towel, and other ingredients to add the extra touch. Crossing the five feet to the food and pulling back the saran wrap Bonnie hummed in delight at the two giant Belgian waffles stacked for the both of them.

"I'm getting roses _and_ one of my top favorite breakfast choices? You sir are setting the bar pretty high to start off this day."

"Good," Kai remarked hearing the smile in his voice, moving around her from behind to kiss her cheek. "I made smoothies too, _made_ being the key word so there will be no major explosions in the kitchen today."

"You didn't have to do all of this," Bonnie murmured leaning against his bare chest and lulling her eyes closed.

"Food and flowers? That's nothing, just wait until later," he snickered and the remark made her hair stand on end. "But you literally caught me with my pants off so I will meet you back here in two minutes."

The time frame seemed to be an over guestimate as Kai sauntered back into the room in onyx jeans and a dark hunter green button down that she noticed when he got closer made his eyes appear more teal than icy blue.

"That was speedy."

"I already picked it out and had it in your room, no muss no fuss," he said wiping his palms together and spun her sealing Bonnie's front side to his. "So as I'm sure you were aware the different colored roses all have their own meaning but did you know that the _shades_ have their own snazzy haiku of affection too? Because I sure didn't, and then the lady cornered me and I didn't want to choose one over the other so I took everything."

"Everything?"

"Well I was going to get the yellow and peach ones even though they're friendship ones, but… we are friends too, so I didn't think there was any harm in it but _don't tell the florist that_. ' _Yellow roses for your girlfriend – is that the declaration you want to make to her? You want red! And pink. And white if she is truly special.'_ So here we are, not a drop of bright sunshine in sight."

But there _was_ plenty of white scattered throughout and that brought a severe ache to her chest. Bonnie was also cursing herself for not paying closer to attention to Caroline's obsessive compulsive need to know the backstory behind every little detail and couldn't recall the meanings of each color but did know red had words like ' _passion'_ and ' _romance'_ revolved around it. Putting together a plate topped off with fruits, syrup, and whipped cream the two moved to the table which had one of those party favor weights with bendable foil and stars attached as a centerpiece.

"When did you do all of this?"

"Couple hours ago," Kai responded looking over to him cutting the waffle, her mind drifting off thinking about when he slept and how long he's been up for.

"And how was your long-awaited birthday sleepover? Everything you've been wanting and more?"

"Oh yeah," Bonnie lied, tearing apart her breakfast, "it was great."

"What do they have planned for you today?"

"I don't even want to know, but I have a few guesses. All I know is I have two classes today to get through first and an early day tomorrow so I'm not trying to be out all night."

"When you've just turned twenty-one?" he questioned giving her the same baffled expression as her friends.

"I didn't sleep much either."

"Ugh you hit the legal age and jumped right up to _grandma,"_ Kai remarked sounding like an old person on the last word, moving extra slowly to stab a piece of food and bring it to his mouth staring deadpanned back at him.

"Says the guy who is _forty_ passing off like he's twenty-two."

"The key is to moisturize, does wanders."

Giving another jab back at him the two fell into their typical banter until their plates were cleared, heading into the room to change as Kai cleaned the dishes with a wave of his hand. Going for something comfortable with light jeans, a green tank top, and grey sweater with small chunky boots Bonnie had just enough time to jump in the shower for a quick rinse before getting dressed. Sliding an arm through the purse handles she crept up behind Kai whose back was to her and went in for a bear hug.

"So there's been this one thing that's been hanging over me since I got home but then there were roses and delicious scents and I got momentarily distracted. But since I am of sound mind at least for right now I have to ask; did you have another nightmare?"

Kai's stomach puffed out once from amusement against her palm and turned in her embrace cupping the sides of her head, eyes boring in hers. "No, ma'am."

"Is that because you didn't sleep?"

"Do you think I could look this good if I didn't have my beauty rest first? You know what, don't answer that, not a good comparison," he mocked and Bonnie's eyes rolled back swatting lightly at his stomach. "I even checked for monsters under the bed before I tucked myself in."

"I know you're making light of the topic for my benefit but I saw how you were the night before and keep thinking about –"

" _Do not_ worry about me," Kai declared in an austere tone cutting her off and pressing his lips to hers, "please. The day you should be I swear I'll let you know but for now you're stuck with me and my jubilant self. You may not know this about me but _I loved birthdays,_ mostly because it was the countdown marker of how much closer I was to becoming leader but there were other factors that came into play every now and then. To be honest I kind of forgot from not celebrating mine or anyone else's for so long but now here I am being part of my girlfriend breaking the most significant age barrier and can drink without it being illegal anymore."

"I have a feeling that's where the night will be turning with Care in charge, you should be afraid _for_ me."

"I'll just have to keep you close," he murmured in a low tone going back in for another kiss, tasting the hunger he was holding back.

"Then you'll be a victim against what's to come, too."

"I'm fine with that." Pecking her nose Bonnie's arms loosened and went to the fridge to get a water bottle. "When are your classes?"

"Noon and 2:15 so I'll be out by four."

"Okay I'll pick you up and call AAA for Sheila's car because that is two trips away from the transmission going."

"Hey it's been doing just fine carting me around all of these years."

"Yeah I can recall when it was carting _me_ around and I was younger than you at the time; the ride has lived to the fullest. Wouldn't you like something smaller, or fast, or maybe something more bulky like an SUV to feel like the _Queen of the road?_ "

"Oh no there are enough macho-heads out there fighting for the throne, I'd go for something a little more inconspicuous."

"Like my car?"

"Your _Lamborghini_ is anything but discreet. I'm not entirely sure you know how to go about something in a non-over the top gesture."

"Yeah that doesn't really sound like me, I'm all for the flashiness."

"Well try not to flash anyone while I'm out. And if you feel you _must_ pick me up then I guess it's alright," Bonnie said in nonchalance with a shrug, giggling at his beard scratching against her neck and cheek when he closed in again.

"It's a holiday miracle. Might I offer saving time and dropping you off so there's no rushing around later?"

"That… actually yeah that sounds like a good idea, thank you."

"Anytime, I just need to grab my boots and we can head out."

Bonnie grinned at Kai's brawny frame darting out the door like a little school boy and made her way to the front, as far as birthday's go this one not seeming to start off rocky like most others and puffed out a sound of relief. Snatching the keys off the hook she fought her hardest to stay optimistic that today was going to be better than past ' _celebrations'_ she's experienced and believed the allegation that a person's 21st was one that was going to be memorable.

-x—x—x—

Kai has had to endure one of the most hectic mornings he's had since coming back to present day, starting with the sporadic three hours of sleep he managed to squeeze in here and there. Once he accepted his paranoia was keeping him from slumber he went about his tasks the long ' _humanly'_ way by going to a florist shop and handpicking everything before setting it up one vase at a time. After that Kai figured making breakfast from scratch would tire him out but it gave him a boost of energy instead and before he knew it Bonnie was walking into the bathroom while he was bare-ass naked.

What he did not expect was to find himself in his car in search of someone he did not want to see. And what's even more hysterical is that _he isn't even doing this for him_ and yet some unrelenting force was tugging him in one direction until he pulled up in front of the Lockwood mansion. Drumming his fingers against the wheel the grimace was plastered to his face up until the ring of the doorbell drew his assailant in.

"Little Gilbert! Do people just let you crash at their mansions and have your pick of the rooms? How upper-class 90's of you."

"What are you doing here?"

"It's Bonnie's birthday."

"I know what day it is."

"Well that's why I'm here," he stated not thinking he needed to explain his point farther and reached in his back pocket pulling a card out of his wallet and holding it out between two fingers, "to give you this."

"Go to Hell."

" _Been there,_ " Kai enthused annunciating the words through the side of his mouth, "although this does feel similar. So if you would just take this we could wrap up this whole awkward exchange."

"Why would I accept anything from you?" Jeremy snarled stepping forward and shutting the door behind him. "You think you can bribe me just because you haven't blinded me like the rest of them?"

"Actually it'd be a lot easier if you continued to feel the same disgust and contempt towards me so it's not one-sided. I'm not trying to persuade you and this isn't a trick, it's for Bonnie. Her friends have something set up tonight that you would be excluded from since you aren't of age but this here is a ' _get into clubs and bars free'_ pass that I magically spruced up so it's foolproof. But my arm's getting tired so the offer expires in five seconds."

"Keep it," he retorted and Kai exhaled deeply dropping his hand to his thigh.

"Now I haven't been around for anyone's birthday for a decade or two but they still consist of the same routine, right? The cake, presents, being around friends and family and _occasionally_ having a festive day or night revolved around it?"

"And my sister and Care are going to make sure Bon has all of those things and more tonight. Not that it's any of your business but I planned on stopping by the house later before she goes out."

"Well now you can go too."

"No."

"Listen I know you're still fairly young and a child in many ways but you need to strap on your big-boy pants and show up tonight."

"Yeah so I can watch you be all over each other, I've heard enough about it from everyone else I don't need front row tickets. I'll see her on my own terms."

"Someone sure had their fill of _bitter Wheaties_ this morning. Hey I get it; dashing and mysterious prince comes into the picture whisking away the princess leaving the court jester, well… you know. It doesn't take a genius to figure out you're giving it your all not to try and kick my ass and take back what you once had, but Bonnie chose me. You can believe whatever your heart desires about me but I've never forced her hand in everything, she undoubtedly _'wears the pants'_ in this scenario because I've left just about everything up to her."

"Is that why you're here and not her; draw the short straw?"

"Metaphorically, yes. She won't say it but I know Bon wants you there so I'm doing my good deed for the year but you're screwing it up. You say you care about her and everyone else believes it to be true, but to be honest, I just don't see it. I see an angry kid who let the girl get away and realized it too late and now has tantrums when he sees her because his second chance got rejected."

"And I see someone violent and unpredictable that I still don't trust around Bonnie."

"You – you do realize Damon and your sister dated for like, _years,_ right?" Kai sniggered with a shake of his head and crossed his arms. "And between you and me which of us has broken Bonnie's heart before - along with her trust."

"Her… oh that's hilarious coming from you after the way you two started out."

"Too true, Bon would have killed me to save herself and hightailed it out of there first chance she got – which she did, unsuccessfully which was fortunate for me. But the difference between us is I didn't have her trust then and kicked things off in the doghouse, working my way up while your bar was raised pretty high when you knocked it down like a bad round of _Jenga._ "

"Because you two were strangers and we were in love," Jeremy claimed slicing through his ears and gritted his teeth, meeting his glare in a stare-down.

"And now neither of those is true," Kai observed, pressing the fake ID to his chest with a finger as he spoke, "be there tonight for Bonnie, or don't; it makes no difference to me."

Catching the card when he dropped his hand Jeremy wasn't given enough time to think up a decent comeback before Kai was halfway down the driveway, already back inside when he reached the car. Peeling out of there he still had an hour and a half before he had to pick up Bonnie and if he plays his cards right that'll be just the right amount of time he needs to get her present squared away for tonight.

xx

"Yes Caroline, I know it's almost time to meet you."

"And you know how to get there? You better not get lost on the way and kidnap the birthday girl all to yourself."

"I wouldn't need an excuse to keep Bon all to myself, we'll be there."

"And no sexy distractions either, you're on a tight schedule."

"Wow, you're so methodical."

"Thank you," Caroline chirped and he could hear her smile through the other end of the line. "So no birthday sex! At least right now later you can go wild."

"I'll be sure to tell her you gave us permission."

"Fifteen minutes and you're out the door."

"See you soon."

Slipping the phone into his back pocket Kai slid on his black slouchy beanie and traveled down the hallway to the closed door at the end on the left, knocking rhythmically against the wood.

"Yes?"

"Why Cinderella, you're going to be late to the Ball!" he gasped in a fancy accent. "They can't start without you!"

"Does that mean I'm going in search of my _Prince Charming?_ Not exactly the ideal setting for royalty."

"Charming's praised too highly, underneath that trendy tail coat he's a glorified kiss-ass."

"So what type of prince do I need?" Bonnie vocalized opening the door and whatever witty remark on the tip of his tongue was wiped clean.

The black chunky boots blended halfway up her calves to skintight spandex hugging every curve up to her hips, his dick swelling as he trailed up her stomach of bare skin. Instead of a shirt Bonnie was wearing some sort of two-piece getup consisting of a white strapless bra with tiny cotton-ball looking designs outline the top, bottom, and curves over each breast. A matching long sleeve half shirt zipped from her chest to neck keeping her midsection completely exposed and both pieces looked like they were the same Irish knit material, soft and comfy.

The dark shade of purple eyeshadow matched the lipstick making her green eyes turn murky and hair was slicked up in a twisted bun on the top of her head making the big gold earrings stick out farther. Bonnie was only turning twenty-one but when she dressed like this he would dock on another five years without a second glance from how sexy and confident she presents herself.

" _Shit;_ I vaguely recall I'm supposed to be doing something… but it's all fuzzy now," Kai murmured outstretching his hand and slid it up the middle of her stomach and over her breast cupping the side of her neck. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" she asked innocently, one hand sliding over the back of his as the other tugged his belt loop to step into the room farther.

"Making it impossible for me not to scramble every club rat's brain that hits on you – _and there will be many._ On top of all the free drinks coming your way that would have happened even _without_ this sex-bomb outfit. Are you sure you don't want to change into a nice burka? They come in all kinds of colors now and have that appeal of mystery leaving the people wanting more."

"I don't need a coverall to protect me from all of the weirdos, that's what you're there for. I'm still a little rusty in big crowds too and if I know Care she's going to make sure everyone is in on it. On second thought maybe I should wear a burka."

"Doesn't it sound more appealing?" he goaded dancing his fingers and palms against her soft skin. "But then I wouldn't get to show off what a knockout my girlfriend is, and I _am_ preferable to boasting. I'm screwed."

"That could be arranged," Bonnie remarked coyly making the blood rush out of his head and snaked his other arm around pulling her into him.

"Well aren't you a little wildcat."

"I know I think it's the outfit I like it," she rushed out with a big smile spreading the same across his face.

"I really am in trouble tonight, aren't I?"

"What makes you say that?" was whispered into Kai's ear sending a chill down the back of his neck, lids stuck shut on a blink.

"Just a strong sneaking suspicion. You know this top doesn't really seem ' _club safe_ ' though."

"How is that?"

Bending his forearm up her spine his thumb and index finger pinched the clasp unhooking it and leaned back unzipping the front with the other, spinning Bonnie around while yanking the material down to her elbows restricting her movements. With his left hand holding her in place his right trailed over her fully naked torso, Bonnie's breathless gasp and inability to tell him off making his heart pound.

"Because it would be too easy for someone to sneak up on you and get you like this," Kai uttered just below her ear in a low tone and her hands shook between them, "and then I'm definitely killing someone."

"On my _birthday_?"

"If a guy had you like this? I wouldn't care what day it was at that point."

"Well you're the only one that would think up getting me this way let alone _doing it_ so you'll be fine."

"Ah you give people so much undeserved credit," he laughed wholeheartedly and tightened his grip leaning in to bend her at an angle. "Everyone's got their interpretations of a nagging hypocrite on each shoulder but when it comes down to it most are just like me. You're in the minority. Oh and to answer your question from earlier, I think you need a prince who's not so ' _well-behaved'_ and more on the unpredictable side."

"So I'm the Angel and you're the Devil in this hypothesis?" Bonnie shot back wiggling her arms unsuccessful in breaking free.

"If the color fits," Kai retorted pointing out her choice of white and his dark shades.

"I don't believe that," she dismissed and he loosened his fist around the material, standing upright so she could face him. "I've seen evil – _real_ evil, and you're just not up to par."

"Do I need a mobster mustache to complete the ensemble? Or a _British accent_ perhaps; they always seem up to something scandalous."

"Well in the Mikaelson's case I guess that last trait actually is pretty fitting," Bonnie shrugged pulling the sleeves up and zipping it, scooping the bra off the floor to strap it back in place. "Someone truly wicked causes others pain because they like it, and they do it unprovoked. They attack at every angle with no remorse and they never stop. And they mask their depravity with manipulation to blind everyone else from it. Then when it's all over the victim thinks _he's_ the bad one."

Kai stared at her with brows drawn wondering what bastard she let into her life that treated her this way until her slipup at the very end, face relaxing as a small smile wiped out the confusion and cocked his head ever so slightly.

"Wow they sound awful, I wonder if I know them."

"It is a small world, it could happen," Bonnie brushed off stepping around him for the door.

"Hey," he said quietly reaching out for her hand drawing her back and sealed his lips over hers, hands cupping both sides of her neck.

Kai had meant the whole _'Angel/Devil'_ thing as a joke and was a term that didn't affect him much anymore since he went for so long believing it was a fitting title but Bonnie did not seem to find any humor in it which surprised him. Mainly because she started off thinking the exact opposite about him which made it difficult for him to accept she doesn't still have hidden cynical thoughts about him, but her reaction was also uncommon.

It wasn't just solemn but… defensive, like Bonnie was his voice of reason with the goal to build him back up. It wasn't until the last sentence of her mini rant that Kai realized she was referring to his dad – what she perceives a villain to be, and the epiphany brought a smile to his face and an excruciating tightness around his ribcage. Feeling his phone going off in his back pocket a groan protruded from the back of his throat against her lips and she leaned back spilling out a bought of laughter.

"What was that?"

"We're late."

"Did your internal clock just go off?"

"No, my pants are vibrating," Kai responded like it was common sense sparking up her merriment more, "which means your friend is calling to yell at me. We should probably get going."

"You and Care talk on the phone? That's so cute. Does she text you too?" Bonnie smirked that set off a high pitched puff of disbelief, her grin of delight still visible.

"Caroline said she prefers it but apparently I'm not ' _tech savvy'_ enough so ' _she'll deal with my 90's issues'_. She does a great job at reminding I am not up to speed with the lingo, either. She's just so helpful."

"One of the many reasons why I adore her," she remarked turning to grab a jean jacket to cover up and her purse. "Okay let's do this."

The ride over to the bar was pleasant enough with Kai's off-key singing and Bonnie swaying around to the beat until they pulled up in front of the destination and her hand squeezed his resting on her lap.

"Bon," he soothed and her head snapped away from the window over to him blowing out a breath and pulling her hand away to flex her fingers.

"Sorry, I just had a flashback of the last party Care threw for me when I got back and tonight's going to be even… bigger."

Kai's jaw clenched remembering with vivid detail exactly how he found Bonnie the night of her ' _welcome home party'_ ; hysterical and having a panic attack in the bathroom from the crowd of partiers, specifically over some stranger groping her on the dance floor.

"The one noteworthy factor you need to remind yourself is that I wasn't at that party until halfway through, and now I'll be by your side the whole time. Or in front of you, or coming in from behind-"

"Thank you, you drove the point home," she cut him off with a small laugh and most of the tension visibly drained away, running her fingers lightly up his forearm, "it's weird but that does make me feel better."

"Why is that weird, because it's me?"

"No," Bonnie said swiftly scrunching her face in confusion, "actually, it's because it's me. I've always been independent and haven't really had a time where I've needed anyone to be there for me like that. That sounds pretty bad, Jer stuck by me and I could lean on him for anything so it's not like he _wasn't_ there for me, but it was just – it's – you know what, I don't know what it is. Let's go."

Bonnie was out the door and halfway to the building without giving him a chance to respond. Shooting Caroline a quick text to let her know they were here he jogged up behind her with just enough time to grab the handle before she plowed through the front door. Just as they reached the opening to turn into the main room Kai reached for her forearm waiting until she turned to speak.

"Just say the word and I'll tell them I'm kidnapping you and we can leave, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed with a small smile and he leaned in kissing her forehead to not mess up her freshly applied lipstick again, lifting a hand for her to go first.


	41. Chapter 41

" _HAPPY BIRTHDAY BONNIE!_ " echoed like a sonic boom blowing Bonnie backwards, eyes darting at every other person in the bar with their glasses raised staring back.

" _Breathe,_ " Kai murmured in a hushed tone and a hard exhale came out like a gasp, tightening the jacket around her stomach and steering towards her best friends running in her direction.

"You're here!"

"You made it!"

"Kai didn't kidnap you!

"We had bets going," Care beamed rushing to hug them both in a one shouldered crocodile green dress bunched up slanting down her chest, cutting across her waistline, and crisscrossing over her right leg underneath a mixed leather and jean jacket. "Can somebody get this birthday girl a drink?!"

Hoots and hollers cheered around the room and she surveyed the gorgeous interior designs of mahogany wood, satin cushions, and purple glass and wallpapers. Bonnie's favorite part was the sheets of glass directly over the bar with lights inside it making the color reflect on the walls and floor. Reaching back blindly to grab Kai's hand the group made their way to the bar spending ten minutes saying hello and thank you to all of her friends before she could sit down and order a drink.

One _Long Island Iced Tea_ later and Bonnie's nerves were slowly starting to dissipate, wishful thinking arising that she was anxious and freaking out over nothing. In the middle of a conversation Kai was just starting up his next sentence when he stopped, eyes flicking over her shoulder for a moment and back.

"You know I think I may have left my lights on," he chuckled tossing back a shot of whiskey and flipping it on the counter, "be right back."

"Um-" Bonnie got out ready to tell him his lights _were_ off when he dashed out of sight, looking up to the purple glass feeling someone slide in taking his spot. "Sorry that's-"

"Taken? I know." Jeremy finished her thought, eyes widening seeing him in person for the first time since _New Year's Eve_ and leaped out of her seat colliding into him.

"Jer," she murmured into his coat squeezing around his shoulders, "I've missed you. How are you here?"

"Your boyfriend," he snorted and she leaned back to his smirk feeling lost. "He stopped by earlier to give me one of these, and I already knew where you were going from my sister."

Looking down to his hand holding an ID Bonnie turned scanning the crowd and saw Kai three seats down talking to Elena and Caroline. Swiping a _Budweiser_ off the counter he checked their way and smiled tilting the top of the bottle towards her before taking a swig and turning back to her friends.

"I'm glad you decided to come, I wasn't sure if I was going to see you today."

"He really didn't tell you he was going to see me, or make a big deal about it after?" Jer inquired and she shook her head. "I was going to come over before you went out, I wouldn't let today pass without wishing you a happy birthday."

"Thank you," Bonnie said genuinely appreciative that he still wanted to see her after how they brought 2011 to a close, "it means a lot to me."

"I wanted to give you this too."

Grabbing a decorative bag from the floor and placing it on her lap she stayed frozen with hesitation over what happened the last time she received a gift from Jeremy. Dipping her hand in Bonnie dug around for a card reading it first to ease into the main event and held her breath when she felt another frame, eyes locking with his subliminally telling him not to make the same mistake twice. Pulling all of the tissue paper off of it Bonnie felt like a switch turned on lighting her up from the inside and held the frame up close with both hands, examining the picture.

Jeremy couldn't have been older than five off to the left sitting in the front yard playing with his toys while the little girl-versions of herself, Elena, and Caroline were dressed up in plastic jewelry and fancy clothes all sporting a designated color fifteen feet closer to the house on the right. Mrs. Gilbert was the one behind the camera – as she usually was – and caught them while no one was paying attention making the moment even more authentic.

"Jer," Bonnie got out before her throat tightened and eyes got heavy, an indication she was about to cry. "This is perfect."

"Well the last one was a _bust_ , so," he shrugged with a grin and she pulled him in for an even stronger embrace.

" _I'm sorry Jeremy_."

Hearing his harsh exhale he squeezed her briefly before letting go and leaned back out of her touch. "I just want you to be happy Bonnie, that's what I care about."

"I want you to be too," she responded quickly against the intense twinge in her stomach, "it's what I've always wanted."

"And you've given me a lot of trust and leniency in hopes of that happening. The least I can do is listen to what you've been asking me and let you have your chance with someone else, even if I can't stand him."

"That's a gift all on its own; ' _a birthday miracle_ ' _!"_ Bonnie yelled in jubilee and he played along lifting his hands to his chest and waved them around going ' _ooooh_ ' _._

"Well I'll let you mingle with everyone and stick around a little while longer, enjoy your party tonight."

Kissing her cheek Jeremy excused himself disappearing through the throng of people and her feet propelled forwards towards Kai standing between her two friends.

"Hey Bon, how-" Launching into his chest Bonnie pulled him down by the collar and poured her affection into the tender kiss, a distant catcall being whistled from within the group surrounding them. "Well my ' _how was it?'_ question is asked and answered in full."

"Why didn't you tell me you went to see Jeremy earlier?" she wondered putting an inch of separation between them catching the girls' look of shock in her peripheral.

"I didn't know if he was going to show up so I wasn't about to say ' _hey Bon, went to see your ex and told him to come to your party but I don't know if he's going to - just thought you should know.'_ At least if he hadn't shown you wouldn't have been expecting him to and wouldn't be as letdown."

"But I never said anything about wanting to see him, today or any day for that matter."

"I know," Kai nodded but she could hear the unspoken truth of what he meant; _I know you._

Leaning in Bonnie brushed her lips against his tilting her face into his touch cherishing this memory.

"Oh break it up, that's disgusting," Damon's voice vocalized over her shoulder and turned to him standing next to Caroline.

"Leave them alone, they're... cute," she stumbled over awkwardly with a tone that was different than the rest of the sentence. "Don't be jealous."

"Of the sociopath? _Oh I'll try._ "

"Former," Kai slid in smoothly with a wink, "and greetings to _you_ , bloodsucker."

Giving her boyfriend one of his _'I'm smiling but I really look devious'_ looks Damon moved to Care's other side and ordered shots for the two of them. "Here's to you Bon-Bon, I really didn't think you'd make it to twenty-one."

"So glad I wasn't part of that ' _cheers'_ ," Kai said under his breath and Bonnie coughed against the liquid as it traveled down and burned her nose, throat, and stomach. "Well what do you know; I guess the night's still young."

Swatting at his chest through her coughing fit she was finally able to gain control after another twenty seconds and zoned back in to a line of shots down the counter for everyone. "Oh no."

"Oh yes, everybody line up!" Kai hollered and the tiny glasses vanished in the blink of an eye. "Bonnie I think I can speak for everyone here when I say I'm glad you're back home with all of your friends for your birthday, and I'm happy to be spending it with you."

"Here here!" Elena hurrahed raising her arm hiking the white ruffles on the bottom half of her dress up her thighs, thin black lines separating each fold. A thick black strap cut across her stomach and the top half was spaghetti strap and fitted like a corset, the black flowery lace standing out against the starkness underneath. Following her lead everyone tossed their drinks back in synchronization with a few whoops afterwards, a comfortable ease settling over her.

One at a time presents began being placed on her lap with an eager face on the other end anxiously awaiting as she dug through sheets of tissue paper inside the bags getting quite the variety of options. Jeremy stepped into the circle right as she was about to open Elena's and loved every item her best friend picked out; a phone case with gold glitter floating around, a small plush elephant, neon nail polishes, a sleeve of _Fireball_ , a woodsy candle, and a four-piece black and white dreamcatcher with chakra beans in the strings and feathers at the bottom.

"Every one of these things will be used within two days," Bonnie chirped through a tight embrace.

"Me next!" Caroline hollered hip-checking people out of the way with a large gift bag in hand.

"Care that's pretty big, what did you do?"

"I went to _Paris, mi amour,_ " she said in a thick French accent, "you thought I came back empty handed when your _mega-birthday_ was just around the corner? You should know me better than that. Just open it."

Dipping her hands into the bag Bonnie couldn't contain the gasp of awe pulling out a _Kate Spade Cameron Street Candace_ satchel. The top strip over the name and flaps on either side of the purse was a stark white and the rest was cement black. It came with both an attachable strap to wear as a shoulder-bag and handles and hanging off one of them was a matching tag with the initials _BB_ written in cursive on it. Peeking inside the interior was black and white striped and incredibly spacious but the shimmering onyx clutch in the middle had Bonnie's neck snapping back in Caroline's direction.

"This is too much."

"It's not _nearly enough_ but it is gorgeous and reminded me of you so it's a start."

"You should probably open mine next then since we got them at the same time," Stefan interjected sliding in with a wrapped t-shirt box.

" _Paris?_ Stefan really... you didn't have to do that."

"You followed us there on a whim to try and save us and because of you, we're home, and are the reason why we got through the worst of it. This is just a small and what I would call a ' _materialistic'_ approach to giving you a token of my gratitude," he smiled and Bonnie's humor bubbled through at Caroline's icy stare at his description and dug in tearing at the wrapping paper and pulling off the cardboard lid.

Standing to let the length of the fabric flow down words failed to come to her examining the plaid long-sleeve tweed brown coat with double buttons with thin white stripes and boxes of navy blue to take up the spaces in between.

"It's a _Deby Debo_ ," Care let out giddily feeling the arms soft material, "I know what you're thinking but I'm not the one that picked it out."

"I made that tough call all on my own," Stefan played along and Bonnie stepped into him hugging around his ribs.

"And it was an excellent choice, thank you Stefan."

"Alright, alright, time for the next Salvatore's minute in the spotlight," Damon spoke up off to her right and pivoted to him now next to Kai, holding up a small bag.

"Is this another can of pepper spray, or more brass knuckles?"

"I'm still not knocking that butterfly knife," Kai chimed in resting an elbow on Damon's shoulder, "my birthdays in two months, just throwing that out there."

"I'll be sure to find you with a knife in hand then."

"Okay, just-" snatching the bag out of his hand Bonnie pulled out shades or red and black tissue and paused holding it midair, taking out a worn-in book with a lion on the front and ' _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'_ written across the top. "Is this a first edition?"

"Easier than you'd think to get your hands on too. I figured after months of hearing about you being ' _a modern-day Dorothy trapped in an alternate Kansas'_ that you should have the original story to see how they add up."

"So one quick question, was I the ' _almighty Oz'_ before you knew who I was?" Kai asked with a peaked interest looking all too eager to hear that it was true.

"Not really, I didn't know Damon and I weren't alone until right before I met you and after that you kind of just tagged along for the ride."

"You're the Tin-Man of the story," Damon specified cocking his head left with a Grinch smile, "cold and hollow on the inside."

"Hmm, so does that make you the coward or the one without a brain? Because that is _one close race,_ " Kai stressed inhaling through his clenched teeth.

"Children," Bonnie called out over their bickering while absentmindedly flipping through the old pages looking at the simple drawings to match the scenes. "Damon this gift is so... thoughtful."

"I got the idea before Christmas but I wanted to wait until your birthday so it was a bigger deal."

"So I guess he has a brain after all. Alright so there's no scarecrow in our scenario but I still need to know _who the wizard is._ Who are we off to see?"

"Well he was the faceless man behind the curtain who turned out to be nothing like he portrayed himself as and was the reason Oz was up in shambles, so I'm going to have to give that title to your dad."

" _The_ _evil-doer creator of the prison world; ooh so spooky,"_ Kai remarked in a ghoulish voice, "and so not the face I'd want to see."

Yanking Damon in for a hug Bonnie opened up Matt's present next which was a $50 gift card to the run down little Wiccan shop at the edge of town that she loves and even Tyler showed up with a card and forty bucks to put towards the drinks. Everyone had gone down the line making sure she gave everyone a well-deserved bear hug until Kai was the only one left, bent over with his elbow resting against the counter.

"So – what? You get the girl to be yours and showering her with gifts is off the table now?" Caroline vocalized by her side spreading his grin wide.

"Now does that sound like me?" he asked putting a hand to his chest with an open mouth. "It's in the car; want to come get it with me?"

Bonnie was going to argue that she didn't see him put anything in there but with his sneakiness he probably just had it cloaked right under her nose. Hopping off the stool with hands clasped Kai led her through the crowd and looked back to tell them all she'd only be a minute but was shocked to see Care right on her tail followed by Elena and the Salvatore's. Getting a sudden urge like she was in the middle of a setup her hand tightened around his and tugged him back a step.

"Why is everyone coming with us?"

"They want to see what I got you," he said modestly and pushed open the front door, hitting her with the crisp night air.

"What are you doing, your car's over here," Bonnie commented noticing she was walking while he was still near the entrance.

"Yeah, but your car's right here."

Eyes darting from Kai to his hand gesture pointing forward to the sleek red car ten feet in front of him half a dozen times Bonnie's vision blurred and had to gain her composure before she could form coherent words.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your new ride, do you like?" he inquired moving to the passenger side door and widening his arms like a salesman showing it off. "It's a Jaguar F-Type R Coupe; sleek, fast, and sexy. She can really move."

The hood of the car stretched longer than the average length and the hood dipped down into what little bit of trunk space is in back. The front grill was boxy and it was so low to the ground that the smallest speed bump would hit it but Kai wasn't exaggerating about the style of it looking silky smooth and like it wouldn't be completely left in the dust up against the Lamborghini. The all black tires matched the leather interior and overall looked like it would go for a price that Bonnie would never dream of being able to afford.

"What shade is this, candy apple?" Elena wondered moving around to the other side and the question pinged something in the back of her mind, scanning the color.

"No, it's scarlet."

Catching the corner of Kai's lip barely curling up on one side he shrugged a shoulder and shoved his hands in his front pockets rocking back on his heels.

"So I buy Bonnie a candle and a stuffed animal and you get her a car; that evens out."

"Damon got her a hundred year-old book and the other two got her stuff from Paris."

"You're right I'm the lowest bar on the totem pole against all of you."

"Elena you got me like ten things and I loved every one of them. You on the other hand," Bonnie stepped up inches to Kai's chest and threw her arm straight out pointing left, " _What the hell is this?_ "

"I _did_ tell you Sheila's car is on its last tire and you needed something new, I dropped a hint."

"That's not a hint that's just telling me my old car is going to be rundown soon not that you were _in the process_ of buying another. How much was this?"

"Oh don't ask silly questions you know you won't get a real answer to," he chuckled engulfing her with forearms wrapped around her upper back. "And I'm starting to get a little hurt that you still haven't told me if you like it or not. Or is that telling me in itself? Then what would you have preferred?"

"Something simpler for starters," Bonnie argued and paused noting his demeanor deflating, curling into him closer. "Even though this is probably the coolest thing anyone's ever done for me – and the craziest."

"I've seen Bonster behind the wheel of my Camaro; the streets should cower in fear with you on the road in a Jag."

"And you're going to be picking us up wherever we go," Care pepped beside Elena bouncing up and down, "which speaking of, want to give us a lift to the club?"

"Leaving multiple hundred thousand dollar vehicles outside of a club might not be the best move, but we'll see about tomorrow _if_ I decide to keep it."

"You're keeping it," Kai smirked pecking at her lips, "or you're exchanging in for one you like better, but the gift stands. Happy birthday, Bon."

Pulling him in to get across her appreciation Bonnie's insides warmed at his smile spreading against hers and nuzzled in him closer wanting to be blanketed in his embrace. The romantic moment fluttered by them without the chance to bask in it and ten minutes later everyone was getting together their things to move onto the next destination.

"Hey I'm heading out but I wanted to tell you something before I go," Jeremy announced finding her at the edge of the bar and nodded, feeling a spike of uneasiness. "I got an early acceptance letter for a scholarship to _New England School of Art and Design_ in Boston and I'm going to take it."

"Wow Jer, congratulations!" Bonnie expressed pulling him in tight, "Boston, that's a little bit of a trip from Virginia but that's incredible. When do they want you there?"

"That's the thing, they want me there next week to start an internship and get into the swing of things as soon as possible. I got this letter in September before you came back and then once you had... anyway I ended up graduating from night school instead in January and gave them my confirmation."

"A week, that's... sudden, but it makes me even more grateful that you came here tonight. I'm so proud that you stuck with what you loved and its paying off. Boston will be lucky to have you."

"I'll still be back over holidays and visit from time to time this will always be my home and where my family is."

"But I'm glad you have the opportunity to go out and live your life. Make something better of it then what this town could give you."

"It wasn't all bad," Jeremy commented lifting his mouth into a sympathetic grin, "but I get it now, with you two. Kai makes you happy. And after him stopping by today and seeing how you are around each other now, I think his act might not be all bullshit. I still don't believe that he won't pull some shady move on you since it's in his nature but after having a couple of months to cool off I'm smart enough to trust your judgment and that you know what's best for yourself. You've been a part of my life since we were kids and that won't change regardless of where I live or who one of us is with, I just want you to know that."

"And I feel the same way Jer, I'm really happy I got to see you tonight. We'll have lunch some time before you leave too so this isn't goodbye."

"Okay," he agreed and pulled Bonnie in for a final embrace, weaving through the herd and out the entrance just as Caroline was storming back in.

"Birthday girl the boys and booze are _awaiting,_ let's hit it!"

Smile stretching from ear to ear she checked the surroundings for any stray gifts and headed out the door finding only Kai and the girls left outside.

"Everyone else is on their way to the club, we were halfway to Damon's car when I remembered that means leaving the two of you alone to drive off into the night together so we're going to ride over with you."

"You have no faith in me whatsoever," Bonnie quipped looking from one friend to the other.

"We have all of the faith _in the world_ in you, your partner in crime is the reason why I'll casually check in and make sure you haven't gone on another trip out of the country."

"That was _one time_ and it was to save the day."

"And what about the next day?" Care asked in a light tone making her cheeks flush with heat and Kai chuckled softly beside her, checking their surroundings for something to change the topic.

"Kai I think you've been robbed, I only see one of your multi-million dollar cars in its spot."

"I think you mean _you_ have been burglarized, my ride's right here. But I can give you a hint on where to find it." Lifting both fists palms down it took Bonnie a second to see he what he was getting at and tapped his left, tilting and uncurling his fingers to display a _Hot Wheels_ version of a red jaguar. "I made it traveling-size for your convenience."

"How did no one see you do magic out front of a bar?" Bonnie retorted looking around them for any onlookers.

"In front of the place that people go into to get drunk and stumble out of at a loss on what happened to their own vehicle? Yeah, I think we're safe," Kai winked and stepped off to the side opening the passenger door and pulling back the seat letting the girls scurry inside.

The ride from one building to the next was no more than ten minutes and the music could be heard from around the block, stopping at the back of the line when Elena linked their arms together.

"Oh you thought we were going to have to wait – _tonight?_ Trust me between Caroline, Damon, and I we planned for anything and everything, your only concern is to enjoy yourself."

Bypassing the expressions of confusion and outrage Bonnie glanced up at the blue neon sign reading _Taboo_ and the four of them slipped inside. Walking down an illuminated corridor the purple hexagonal design outlined in white on the ceiling and down the wall made it appear as if it were curving like an arch around them, the interior reminding her of the nightmare with the endless hallway and the door at the end you never reach. Lacing her fingers through Kai's the vibrations from the bass grew louder as they neared and veered right into a massive open room with blaring music and people grouped together by the herds.

The only lighting in the room was from the various luminescent shades of violet and indigo black lights on the walls, ceiling, and in various pieces of furniture throughout. The dance floor was in the center of the room needing to go down three steps at every angle to walk onto it with at least a hundred tinted mirrored domes hanging overhead so people could see themselves as they danced. A small stage sat against one of the sets of stairs and fifteen feet overhead sat a metal barred platform with a 360 degree view, the staging forming a bridge to one side of the second floor's perimeter. Every couch, table, and ottoman were all tinted a shade of violet from the lighting against the stark-white fabric and the overall LED effect was making her head spin, eyes feeling sensitive from needing to adjust to the change.

A rumble of huskiness protruded on Bonnie's right turning her attention to Kai's raised eyebrows and cocked one of hers in response, their locked hands being lifted to show the indents her fingertips were leaving in his skin from clenching it so tight. It wasn't as if she hadn't been around big groups and attended parties to get back into the rhythm of things since they returned home but there is still a lingering sense of dread and panic every time Bonnie gets thrust into these situations that she can't shake.

There was something about this place that struck her negatively – the loud music, too many people, dancing – and recoiled back when it clicked; this was the same setup as her ' _welcome home party'_ but magnified fifty times over. Fighting the urge to flee the building Bonnie shut her eyes and inhaled on one, exhaled on two a few times to gain her composure, lids fluttering open to Kai's face inches from hers.

" _Hey – I'm here,_ " his voice soothed blocking out the rest of the noise, the pad of his thumb rubbing the side of her jaw softly.

"I know, I see you," Bonnie teased back aiming to wipe the tension from his features and pulled him down gently by the collar until she found his lips.

"Alright, Alright, it's come to my attention we've got a fresh new face in the building, a baby duckling of just twenty-one years," a woman's voice came in through the speakers and she jerked back with wide eyes, pivoting sharply to where she stood on the small center stage, "and she decided to spend her once in a lifetime night with _us_ , so let's make it worth it for her! Where is Bonnie? Come on up here, girl!"

"I'm going to strangle her," she forced out through gritted teeth, frozen in place against her best efforts to put one foot in front of the other. "Give me a push."

"What?"

"A gentle nudge in that direction," Bonnie specified lifting her chin towards the commotion, "I'm fine, I just-"

"Need that extra kick," Kai confirmed clasping both hands and began leisurely walking backwards bringing her with him, "but there are better ways."

"Ah there she is!" The woman in her early thirties pepped when they broke through the crowd and held a hand out for Bonnie to take, pulling her up onto the stage. "And you are beautiful! Why don't you take off your coat and stay awhile."

Noting her jean jacket still had her fully concealed during their time at the bar she pulled the buttons loose and let the material slide down her arms, the sounds of appraisal making her ears burn hot from attention.

" _Ow_ _oww!_ " A deep voice cat-called and eyes turned into slits seeing Damon with his hands cupping his mouth beside the rest of the group.

" _Ooh_ check out this foxy mama all dressed up tonight, can I get a little love from the audience?" she complimented followed by a rumble from the crowd. "I said _can I get a little love?!"_

An upsurge of cheers shook Bonnie's system rattling her bones with a mixed blend of nerves and adrenaline, grinning wide through the trepidation. Listening on as the apparent head bartender goaded them all to make the night memorable all the while treating her with the upmost respect – as much as one supposedly could in a nightclub – and scrambled to get off the stage when a melody of a familiar song froze her mid-step.

On cue everyone scattered throughout began singing _'Happy Birthday'_ drawing every ounce of attention in the building solely on her and eyes darted frantically from one strangers face to the next. A blind force tugging at her brought Kai's pale blue irises into view followed by a smile so cheerful it lit up his face and subdued her shaking frame. Once the last note was sung hundreds of balloon came fluttering down from above the mirrored domes onto her and the dance floor erupted the crowd as they went wild.

All but diving off the stage Bonnie bee-lined it to her friends bypassing all of the kind wishes and shot an accusatory look between Caroline and Damon. "Which one of you was it? Or did you both team up to come with this little rouse?"

"Yes thank you so much for putting a shiny spotlight on my girlfriend and urge every half-baked inebriate in here to feed her liquor, that was so thoughtful," Kai commented brusquely looking from one friend to the next going down the line.

"Oh _relax_ we knew her overbearing bodyguard would be attached to her hip making it impossible for anyone to try anything," Damon remarked in a cocky tone squinting at him, "and if they do hit on her then it's all the more entertaining; win-win."

"I think you just want to see me snap someone's neck on the middle of the dance floor," Kai retorted lifting a corner of his mouth and he mimicked his expression, flattening the buttons down his black shirt.

"A little bit of friendly compelling goes a long way, I _do_ hope you enjoy the night as much as I'm going to," Care agreed. "But can we mention how _incredible_ you look tonight? Seriously! Every inch of you is toned and flawless, what is your secret?"

"Got to be that new workout regimen she started up, all that cardio really makes you sweat," Elena remarked casually while casting a glance up and down Kai's body igniting his infectious laughter blending together with her other friend's light bubbly trills.

"Bon's always been a hottie, she's just modest," he commented reaching to graze over her knuckles lifting her hand to kiss them and catching the girl's coos in the background.

"You only turn twenty-one once little witch and it's all in good fun," Damon reasoned stepping forward and sliding an arm around her shoulders, "let's get you a small glass of something dark to get things started, shall we?"

Begrudgingly linking her arm through his she stayed close to Damon's side weaving through the room to the opposite side sliding into one of the barstools. Clinking her shot glass against his Bonnie's head was still tilted back in mid-swallow when she felt a tap on her shoulders.

"Well hey there darlin', how's about I buy the woman of the night a drink?" an older twenty-something remarked leaning in close on the counter.

"Beat it," Damon brushed off lifting a finger to the male bartender ordering another round, "she's covered."

"Oh I didn't see you there, are you two together?"

"Me and Bon-Bon? Wouldn't that be a wild ride," he enthused bumping her shoulder and her eyes rolled back scoffing at the thought.

"Well that's good news for me," he said in a cheesy tone looking her over.

"Doesn't mean she isn't taken," Kai vocalized from over her shoulder, no more than a foot away from the guy who was unsubtly easing backwards away from them and veering off in another direction. "I hope everyone backs down that easily, make my night so much less stressful."

"Bonster's finally allowed inside the ' _big kids clubs'_ , which by the way you just barely make it into too so the onlookers are bound to make their rounds."

"And I would have had no problem telling him off if you two Neanderthals didn't speak for me," Bonnie spoke up spinning in the stool to face Kai and the rest of the club, "I can still handle things myself just fine."

"But that's what boyfriends are for, to intimidate and scare away the ones who are _wishing_ they're me," he reasoned leaning down to peck Bonnie's forehead, "granted I haven't had to play the part other than a brief span in high school but I'm learning with you as I go."

"And I just like telling people to ' _beat it'_ ," Damon added sliding over a glass of dark liquid in ice and lifted another for Kai.

"Bonnie I need you to get that cute little booty out of that seat and come dance with me," Caroline sing-songed slinking over to them with a wiggle in her step and hands in the air, "we can show off the new routine we're learning!"

"Yeah right," she snorted nearly choking on the drink.

"Oh come on, it's a minute at most! And it'll loosen you up because you better get comfortable with that dance floor and stage; you're going to be seeing a lot of them."

"It's true, I plan on dragging you out there too," Kai mentioned with a wink, "since I know how well you can move, and all."

"I'm going to need more drinks first," Bonnie interjected and tilted her head back swallowing the remnants she had left while motioning for another, "just put it on my tab, or what will be my tab after I give you my card."

Bellowing out a sound of amusement Kai reached in his back pocket pulling his credit card out of his wallet and slid it across the counter ignoring her attempts to stop him. Slamming back the next round of shots lined up for them all Care wretched Bonnie away from the safe zone and into dark waters, weaving through the partiers swaying to the music to reach the front and hopped up onto the empty stage reluctantly following behind. A ' _house'_ style club-mix was bumping through the speakers with a steady beat to follow and looked to her friend on her left jumping on the balls of her feet clapping wide over her head.

"In 5, 6, 5-6-7-8-"

Crossing her legs Bonnie's right foot first planted in front of her to the left, her other swinging around to land on the right while her hands swayed up by her sides snapping to the rhythm. Bringing her foot back to its original standing point followed by the left her right one kicked out tapping her toes where she had stepped first and back, repeating it with the other. Flowing into the next move both pivoted so one of their right sides were facing the crowd that was now rip-roaring with adulation and kicked the foot near the edge of the stage out, bending at the knees to thrust twice before hopping back to put her weight on the other and doing it twice more.

Stomping her left leg out Bonnie's opposite arm launched forward like she was throwing a baseball pitch, bending to bring it in a full circle and used that momentum to swing around and stand the other way. Pulling her elbows back to pop out her chest she matched the move with tapping her toes on each foot four times followed by a roll of her hips and swing around of her arms overhead turning them to face the center once more. Jumping one way Caroline's hip connected with hers and hopped to the right throwing her other hip out to bump the air.

Pivoting so they were facing diagonally to the left both ladies slid their right leg out to the side and bounced off of left twice, bending her arms and thrusting up from her stomach to chest the same number of times before switching to the other leg. Repeating it four more times by doing the action only once instead of doubled Bonnie progressed into a kick ball change; a flick of the left foot in front swinging back and slightly pushing off the floor by the ball and stepping with the right foot. After the fourth round the girls lifted their hands out wide from their sides and spun around in a circle with their heads thrown back, stepping to the right with her left foot a beat behind and replicated it both ways all the while her arms are bent at the elbows being raised and lowered at reverse times.

Stepping with the beat Bonnie leaned back on her left stomping with her ride and used the momentum to lean forward slapping her palm off the stage with a tap of her left foot. Doing a ' _right-left, right-left'_ dance move her ankles would cross and jump out pointing one foots toes in one direction before crossing them back over and leaping out to point the other way, crouching and pulling her arms in to get in two solid thrusts. Tapping the balls of her feet two at a time with arms extended like she was doing the _'cha-cha'_ the both of them spread their legs wide and wiggled their torso and arms to the left and then the right like they were doing the wave from one side of their body to the other, four hard thrusts making the audience go wild.

Jumping and clapping overhead the two moved around the stage getting into what would be a more extensive formation with the rest of their dance class and lined up first with Caroline right behind. Keeping up with the bubbly steps Bonnie pushed out onto her right leg as Care went left, palms facing outwards and pulling them back twice before stepping back in to plant her feet together and mimicking it the other way. Doing it back and forth a few more times with only one tug of her palms back quickening their pace whichever way Bonnie went her dance partner would do the opposite which was seemingly more effective when they had more bodies in the lineup.

Swinging both hands from the left overhead to her right knee the girls friends could be heard over everyone else when they popped their butts out half a dozen times and slid left across the stage with her arms thrown out at her sides. Falling into a fit of hysterics the two hopped to the beat with their hands in the air just as the end of the song neared, every males reach extended towards them for assistance off the stage and offers of free drinks at the ready.

"What are a couple of beautiful women doing here all by themselves?" Two handsome gentlemen in dark suits inquired cutting off their path

"Now that would be a crime."

"No need to get us arrested, we're not alone," Bonnie smiled sweetly contradicting the subtle warning in her tone knowing Kai had his eyes on her wherever he was.

"Now _that_ is bad news for us, so there's no chance we could interest you in a drink or a dance?" the second guy with dark eyes spoke up, eyes slithering down Caroline's frame.

"The night is still young, but not right now," she winked and slid her arm into Bonnie's steering casually off in another direction, giggling as they went.

"Hey pretty ladies."

"It must be my birthday tonight too."

"You rocked it up there."

"My girl's got some moves," a familiar voice called out and followed the sound looking off to where Kai stood at the top of the stairs, smile stretched from ear to ear, "but that's nothing compared to what I've seen you do."

"Oh, TMI, I'm picturing things I shouldn't be," Elena huffed by his side with a forceful shake of her head and he barked out a laugh.

"I was talking about the way she _dances_ but if you want me to tell you how-"

"I don't – I _really_ don't," she stressed throwing a hand out to ward him off and he chuckled sliding his fingers behind Bonnie's lower back, lowering to bump foreheads.

"I heard it's someone's birthday today!" a girl's voice chimed and Kai's head whipped to the right, eyes slowly trailing to follow his lead landing on a curly-haired blonde in a tight bodice two-piece hot pink dress. Before registering that the Gemini's were filing in around her AnnaLynne wrapped her arms around in a snug embrace, taking Bonnie off guard more than anything. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks AnnaLynne," she responded back genuinely, pulling back to the girl's own sincere expression smiling back at her, "and thank you for coming."

"Sorry it took us forever, we had to pick up this first," she apologized lifting her arm to hold up a present.

"Oh – you didn't have to-"

"Oh but we did, and it's kick-ass," Evan interjected hovering his hands over the bag and moving them slowly and speaking at the same speed, _"open it."_

Feeling everyone's eyes on her Bonnie moved closer to the group of friends were essentially surrounding her and moved the tissue paper out of the way letting out a sound of delight and amusement, pulling out a gorgeous crystal ball. The stand consisted of three gold dragons attached to a gold rim where the clear quartz orb sat and examined it closer in awe of the smoky effect appearing like it was swirling inside.

"As a group we thought to ourselves, ' _what doesn't a Bennett witch have?'_ and after much discussion and many disagreements we came together in consensus that if there was anything you didn't have or needed an _upgrade of_ , it would be this," Cody explained off to her left clean shaven in jeans and a grey t-shirt underneath a grey hooded denim jacket with the same soft material for the sleeves. "But if you hate it then Hayes was the one pushing us on it."

"And I stand by its awesomeness," Evan remarked puffing out his chest making Bonnie snicker and put the ball back in the bag before she dropped it and went around hugging them all.

"I love it and it's really sweet that you put thought into what to get me which you really didn't have to do. Thank you."

"I'll bring this out to the car before you break it," Kai mimicked her internal thoughts swiping the bag from her hand and darted out of sight, Cody being the first to break the silence drawing in closer to Elena.

"How's it going?"

"Getting better," she responded taking both friends by surprise, checking the other's reaction before catching his grin somewhere between cocky and nervous.

"Do you want to dance?"

"I'd love to."

Slinking her arm in his the two took the few steps down back onto the dance floor and Bonnie checked over to the right towards the bar noting Damon was distractedly deep in a discussion with his brother and Alaric. Emma and Evan sauntered off next dwindling their small circle and held her breath when Michael's eye-line connected with hers, sensing what was coming.

"Would your boyfriend fry my brain if I asked you to dance?" he questioned in a smooth tone, the specific term coming in as de ja' vu hearing Kai make that remark earlier that night.

"Not if you ask, but probably if I accept," Bonnie responded lifting a shoulder and tilting the side of her head onto it in a noncommittal gesture brushing off the severity of what the repercussions would be. "Should we risk it?"

"You know normally I'm all for pressing my luck, pushing my limits, but the Gemini leader's already a touch intimidating based off all of the stories I've heard growing up so I'm not entirely eager to get on his bad side."

"He seems like he'd be a bit of hothead," Caroline concurred nodding excessively, "and his overprotectiveness and unwilling to share what he wants – oy, it's like pulling teeth with the guy."

Hiding the small smile over her friend's pristine accuracy Kai appeared fifteen seconds later and Michael took a visible step backwards away from the both of them.

"Well, again – happy birthday Bonnie, and I'm sure I'll catch you on the dance floor but for right now I have to find myself a partner," he declared tilting an invisible cap down and readjusted his white dress shirt and skinny black tie, shaking out of sight.

"And they all left me," AnnaLynne concluded tossing an arm out to the crowd, "I told them it was going to be five minutes at most before they all broke off to find someone desperate enough to sleep with them. Well, at least Michael, Cody is a sweetheart behind that cheeky façade."

"I don't know Dean was pretty sincere about how awesome he thought he was."

"But what about Daneel?"

"She... was uncharacteristically kind, come to think of it," Kai reflected back looking up to the ceiling with a tap of his chin, "interesting combination for junior Cooper."

"So is the way he looks with how he moves. I feel like beautiful people are just born with that dancing gene already implanted," Caroline thought out loud looking from Elena and Cody to the direction of the Gemini still standing with them and fluttered with laughter. "Sorry. I have no filter sometimes but it does seem to hold true. You seem like you'd be know how to move on the dance floor, I've seen Bonnie turn heads, and even Stefan has let loose and helped me perfect the routines through the decades."

"Well I'm not one to ' _brag_ ' or ' _toot my own horn'_ , although I guess this would merit two toots," Kai chortled to himself likely over the blatant lie of not being an egomaniac and slid his hands in his back pockets, "but I think I could be added to that list."

"Pretty sure someone else needs to indict you onto it," she retorted back and Bonnie's thoughts drifted through the few intimate and memorable numbers they've shared together.

"You saw me strut around during karaoke."

"You mean when you copied _The King of Pop's_ moves? That doesn't count."

"Then I guess you'll just have to be dazzled by my skills all over again."

"Singing isn't enough?"

"Why stop there when you can reach greatness?" he asked skeptically earning every girl's reaction of vexation.

"Okay well I wanted to make sure I saw you and that you got our present so I'm going to find a complete stranger to dance with," AnnaLynne said swiftly, eyes connected with her to avoid Kai beside them.

"Wait uh, have a shot with me first," Bonnie intervened feeling the need to talk to her longer, the awkward tension thick between the young Gemini and her leader.

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly and the four skirted through everyone back to the bartender, a large tray filled with a variety of cocktails being placed in front of them.

"Happy birthday from some of the eager folks around the club!" the woman cheered as they all formed a semi-circle around the plethora of colorful concoctions."

"Yay, free drinks!" Bonnie's best friend praised in high spirits and scooped up a martini glass with lime green liquid enjoying a long sip. "They always taste so much better."

"I like the way you think," Kai recited reaching over them to snatch a tumbler of dark liquid, lifting it overhead to the rest of the party guests, "cheers!"

Waiting until AnnaLynne picked up a flute of something light and bubbly to grab another shot of clear liquid they all raised their glasses followed by a sonorous _'hurrah!'_ from their surrounding patrons.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to apologize," AnnaLynne declared in a hushed tone, looking over her shoulder to see Kai distracted by Caroline, "about... if I came on too strongly or started off on your bad side because of Kai. If I had known you two were even interested in each other I never would have tried to get him know him better."

"Part of me is glad you didn't know then because he seems pretty sincere about wanting you to be his friend, and I hope the way you found out about us didn't ruin that."

"Yeah," she muttered inaudibly looking over Bonnie again to him five feet away and flicked back out to the crowd, finishing the flute.

"The truth is I'm the one who didn't want you all to know about us. Kai was actually pretty upset that he felt like he was lying to you all and didn't want to have to put on an act but I was just nervous. I didn't know any of you and all you knew of me was generations of stories of the Bennett's and I wanted to wait, but he didn't. I don't know if that changes anything for you in how you see him or if you're still going to shut him out but I hope you give him another chance because honestly... he needs friends."

A throaty sound of merriment trickled up AnnaLynne's throat pulling in to rest her hand on her stomach, beaming back at her. Once Bonnie got past the insecurity that bloomed every time the Gemini was within a fifteen yard radius that triggers its own demons of jealousy there wasn't really anything that she could hold against the girl with a crush on the stereotypical ' _unattainable hot guy.'_ Other than the kiss all of the little touches and innuendos were reasonably innocent, largely based off the factor that AnnaLynne believed they were both single during it and that lack of sleaziness is why they were having this conversation now.

"I know I haven't known you for very long but from what I've seen, you live up to the Bennett's reputation of being an enigma and keeping everyone on their toes. You're not how I expected you to be, you're so... down to earth, it's pretty humbling."

"I'm not all that," Bonnie brushed off with a forced laugh feeling the heat of the attention from that statement, "just a normal' _ish_ college kid who has been up against some extraordinary circumstances."

"Like I said – _humbling_. Thank you though, for this."

The way her mind interpreted the remark was as if AnnaLynne needed something else to alleviate the anger and hurt she must be feeling towards Kai who in her eyes lied saying he wasn't with anyone and led her on until she found out the truth by witnessing it firsthand. Even on her best day Bonnie would have given serious contemplation over if she'd ever want to talk to him again and if she agreed she's fully aware it would be coated with disdain.

"Anytime, and thank _you_ for the crystal ball that's something every girl should have at least one of. I'm happy you came tonight."

"I am too, it's turning out much better than anticipated," she said with a look expressing how truly surprised she is by it, "so I'm going to take this light buzz and head out to the dance floor before it fades away."

"Sounds like a plan," Bonnie pepped in agreement, Kai plopping into the seat the moment she was out of sight.

"Hey there sweet thang, want to dance?"

"You see I would but I'm dating this guy that gets a little violent when he has a temper tantrum and I'm _fairly certain_ this would cause one."

"Sounds like a catch," he simpered with a squint and she slid out of the seat to between his legs, nails grazing up his thighs.

"He also cooks."

"But can he compete with my skills?" standing to press their chests together Bonnie's hand was lifted and spun in two quick circles being firmly pulled in once more.

"I guess we'll have to see."

Going with AnnaLynne's logic of not letting the starting remnants of a giddy tipsiness pass them by Bonnie's hands were clasped in his leading them to the middle of the room and down the three small stairs landing them on the illuminated floor. A house-style remix to what she was assuming was called ' _Powerful'_ by the way it kicked off with the chorus and the beat was intoxicating not to get lost in, eyes drifting closed as her arms lifted.

 _There's an energy_

 _When you hold me, when you touch me_

 _It's so powerful_

 _I can feel it_

 _When you hold me, when you touch me_

 _It's so powerful_

Kai's touch gliding down her sleeves pulled her back into the present and bent her elbows dropping her hands behind her head as his traveled lower over her bare ribs and hips. The farther down his fingers dipped the more intense the music became simultaneously making her heart pound and spun to face him when the beat dropped, the lights going out and flickering different colors making the room come alive. The pulsating rhythm matched Bonnie's own heartbeat appearing as though it was physically charging her from within and swayed her hips letting the buzz of the alcohol dull the senses of insecurity.

Tugging the beanie off and sticking it in his back pocket Kai grabbed her left hand with his right pushing her away abruptly before pulling her back in a twirl twice slamming her backside into his front. Fingers entwined and resting against her stomach Bonnie looked over her left shoulder to playful eyes gazing back at her and a piece of her hard shell from being so apprehensive about how the night was going to go cracked, her smile shining through the fragments.

This club version of the song had strong 90's vibes coated into it and her body reacted before her brain could catch up, dropping into a squat and pushing her knees out with her back arched. Grinding her butt up his thighs Kai towered over her with their arms stretched out forward swaying slowly to the beat while chills racked her spine from his warm breath. Tugging their arms in Bonnie dragged their fingers across her chest, shaking them down her ribs and hips and pushing them out to their sides. Using her momentum Kai swung one of her hands down and tossed the left over his right shoulder dropping his arm to dip her low.

 _Oh Lord of mercy_

 _I'm begging you, please_

 _I'm feelin' drained_

 _I need love_

 _You build me up like electricity_

 _Jumpstart my heart_

 _With your love_

Pressing against her thigh Bonnie bent down and sprang back up, using the pressure of his arm across her shoulders to lean back and swirl sending them spinning across the floor. The way Kai glided across the room with such confidence committing to whatever moves she threw at him was one of the biggest turn-ons he possesses. Dancing has always been a vital part of her life growing up; it was an outlet she could escape to and find clarity in.

Unfortunately there's never been with anyone to share the personal sentiment with besides Gram's and to a degree Caroline but the few times Bonnie and her boyfriend have stepped onto the dance floor it's unlike anything she's ever experienced before. The passion, the intensity, the charisma – and let's not forget to mention the pleasant surprise of how well they flow together, like they get a wisp of what it's like to be as one.

Letting her fit kick out on their own volition Kai stalked around her like the predator he is, his firm grip leading her in opposite directions as he twirled her in pirouettes and swung them in wide circles while other guests veered out of the way. In the position of a formal dance the hand gripping her hip pivoted and steered her to and fro until they were standing side-by-side with Bonnie's right side pressed up against his and her hand still locked in his.

Sliding the leg out that was closer to her Kai subliminally got the message across to lean back and obliged; fingers drifting up her side to underneath her bra and pushing his palm gently against her skin. Trusting he had her weight her knees bent giving the illusion she was drifting slowly down his jeans and used the force of their connected hands to steer upright falling into a one-two step with him.

Hearing the closing beats play out Bonnie pressed her torso against his swaying her hips slowly, nails dragging through the back of his hair guiding their foreheads together. Uproars of celebration snapped her out of the daze and jerked her head back scanning the other dancers who had all but cleared the path for them, including their friends.

"Yo' who knew this guy knew how to dance outside of the 90s!" Cody yelled over the music stepping up to clasp hands and slap each other on the back, pulling back to flash Bonnie his compelling smile. "You both looked great."

"Yeah that was a lot of fun to watch, do you mind coming up with another routine right on the spot to the next song too?" Elena added settling up beside him, scanning down to guesstimate their close proximity.

"Hm where's my number one fan?" Kai asked peering over everyone's heads, brow arching when two people came to mind. "You know; blonde, spunky, has a special talent in living in my shadow?"

"You really shouldn't refer to AnnaLynne that way," Caroline declared appearing on Bonnie's opposite side, eyes boring into her boyfriends, "someone could take offense."

"The weak hearted and feeble minded, maybe, but I don't see any of them here," he shrugged cocking his head to the side giving her one of his boyish grins, "did you catch our dance?"

"Sure did," she responded simply and turned her attention to her right, expression brightening, "you were phenomenal, Bonnie; like a graceful swan. You almost don't even need a partner since you clearly outshine them."

Eyes darting from Care trying to mask her maniacal smirk to Kai splitting his sides with laughter the two standing across from them took their moment of distraction to share an almost unperceivable look of lust cross over triggering their fingers to brush together.

"Who's up for another round?" Bonnie pushed out of her vocal cords a little too forcefully turning everyone's attention to her swiftly, gripping the hand in hers and steering up the stairs to the bar where the overly ambitious bartender was already placing another tray full of choices in front of them.

"Don't worry there's more where this came from, drink up!"

Filing in to choose their concoctions she didn't see the Salvatore's or other Gemini's in sight and belted back pink candy-sweet liquid, Emma and Evan meeting up with them for the next tray. Tilting her head back to let the liquor slide down her throat Bonnie hummed at the hazy effect that was overcoming her, the sounds and flashing lights dulling the senses and lulling to a more dim state.

Leaning backwards Kai's warmth surrounded her as he pulled her in and pivoted so he could rest against the countertop with hands splashed across her stomach. Tickling lightly over his forearms she didn't know if she should blame the undercurrent of sexuality brewing on the alcohol alone or the mixed blend of that, dancing, and being pressed up against her partner feeling safely tucked away from reality. A kiss against the side of her head brought an unexpected tightness inside her ribcage and squeezed his arms tighter breathing through the discomfort.

"How are you feeling?" Kai asked in a low tone beside her ear, shivering in response and spun in his grip pressing their chests together to peer up at his sincere expression.

"Tipsy," Bonnie commented with honestly and giggled at his stomach vibrating with amusement, "happy."

Igniting his smile set off a wave of euphoria misting her skin and locked her arms around his neck pulling his face down to hers. Holding her tight one hand trailed up to the side of her neck taking control of the kiss and her toes curled from the wafting of passion simmering off of Kai at any given moment. Rolling his tongue over hers Bonnie fought the urge to not progress them farther in fear that she wouldn't want to stop and sucked in his bottom lip clenching down as her dirty thoughts began escalating on their own volition.

" _Ow,_ " Kai grunted pulling from her overheated state and spun them slamming his hands on the counter behind her, dark eyes raking up her body feeling the scorch follow its path.

"Sorry," she muttered shyly and dropped her eye-line between them, his forehead firmly lifting her face back up with a nudge.

"If you're not careful I'll take you right here, I don't care who's around."

"Please," Bonnie scoffed in a way that came off like she didn't believe him and not as a form of consent.

"You think I'm kidding?" he squinted skeptically hovering closer and pressing his hips into hers, "I haven't been around groups of people in a long time, I don't even notice them."

Thighs shaking at the dark promise Bonnie knew she needed to get out of his bubble before she contemplated taking him up on his offer and ducked underneath an arm, finger curling at him to follow moving slowly backwards. Watching her over his shoulder Kai strode to her in seconds yanking her flush to him and puffed an exhale against his neck. Before Bonnie had even taken a breath she had already spent three songs inside her boyfriend's arms and felt her anticipation spike once more when they progressed into the fourth.

Their surroundings faded away as they got lost in each other, gliding across the floor with Kai's traveling physically awakening her system. The contrast of his hooded gaze against the cheerful smile was fueling Bonnie with untamed adrenaline, beginning in her core and flooding its way out to her extremities. By the time the song neared its end their hold on each other was so tight she felt lightheaded, her inflamed cheeks warning her that others were staring.

"You go birthday girl!"

"You two are amazing!"

"So cute!"

Whistles and hoots sounded from all around and Bonnie let out a yelp when he dropped her low into a dip, lifting her up followed by a graceful bow swooning the rest of the women in the building. Scurrying away from the focal point of everyone's attention they paused at the bar just long enough for Kai to lay into Caroline about how ' _fly'_ his moves still are and explored the rest of the club.

Finding a spiral staircase tucked in the corner the second floor was only as wide as three people standing side by side and walked the perimeter absorbed by the iridescent shades of blue and purple on the walls, ceiling, and beneath their feet. Rounding the other side they reached the entrance to the metal-barred path leading to the center of the room circling around a large square clear Plexiglas with colorful orbed chandeliers hung from ceiling to floor.

"Wow," Bonnie breathed taking a encircling the object and weaving through the scattered couples, stopping 3/4th of the way around where she could see everyone on the dance floor between the hanging mirrored domes. Gripping the flat metal bar near her waist she spun and scooted onto it in one motion, swaying with the momentum.

" _Hey_ ," Kai flared-up gripping behind her knees and stepping between them, "this is supposed to be your night and if I use _magic_ to save you then I will definitely steal your thunder."

"Scare ya?" she asked coyly, arms trailing up to wrap around his neck and lip curved examining his somber expression. "It's _so much more fun_ when it's the other way around, I can see the surge of twisted enjoyment you get out of this."

"And what would that be?"

"It shows you're worried about me," Bonnie let out honestly, head feeling like it was floating from the buzz and mouth opened into a wide grin at his eyes rolling back with a look like she was utterly naïve.

"Yeah, to put it lightly. You know there was a time where self-preservation was first and foremost, the absolute necessity. Times were easier then."

Nodding lightly as she brushed off the statement the words trickled back in with more clarity, the last of it being enunciated for emphasis. "Wait, what?"

"Life was simpler before you," he shrugged in nonchalance, the crack in her voice of shock breaking Kai's façade and chuckled kissing her softly. "I didn't say it was better."

Puffing out the flutter that expanded in her chest Bonnie's tongue dragged along his teeth seeking access and rolled against his, her pulse pounding wildly in her eardrums over the deafening noise. A remix of _Hypnotic_ by Zella Day slipped through Bonnie's subconscious and the slow beat shot through her core, grinding along to it.

 _You do to me so well_

 _Hypnotic takin' over me_

 _Make me feel like someone else_

 _You got me talking in my sleep_

 _I don't want to come back down_

 _I don't want to touch the ground_

 _Pacific Ocean dug so deep_

 _Hypnotic taking over me_

An impalpable lasciviousness took over in an instant and launched off of the railing into his embrace. Caging her where she stood Kai's frame expanded towering over her and kissed her with such ardor her thighs shook.

" _I want you,_ " slipped out of Bonnie with no control, a rumbling deep in his chest signifying he could hear her soft spoken plea over the music.

" _Don't tempt me_."

Taking the warning as an invitation she spun with their lips still connected holding the side of his neck for stability and arched her butt into his jeans, the puff against her neck driving her farther. Rocking to the beat Bonnie's lips slipped from his and dropped to the ground in the limited space she had, fingers climbing up the rails as her backside traveled up Kai's legs. Dipping a hand between them a light grazing of his fingertip ran along the seam of her pants as his voice murmured something inaudibly, a gasp escaping at the pressure pushing her panties aside.

" _Kai."_

"Hmm?" he hummed sliding between her folds while his left hand traced her frame in nonchalance. Arching into his touch Bonnie grabbed hold of the railing wrapping her fingers around Kai's forearm with the other, hips moving on their own volition.

" _There are people all around us,"_ she hissed letting out some of the aggression felt towards her body and the betrayal it's displaying.

"Then don't draw in any extra attention," Kai summed up like it was a simple solution, "and keep your ass against me."

Clenching down at the promiscuous command Bonnie's hips swiveled in a wide circle driving his fingers deeper and moaned into the open space, the sound drowned out by their surroundings. With lids fluttering closed the thunderous melody was taking over both her mind and body and was just lucid enough to hear her voice of reason speak up in caution, warding her off the path she's steering down before making the conscious decision to shut that part of her brain off.

Directly under their feet was one of the many speakers spread throughout the building and the vibrations were shooting through the bottoms of Bonnie's feet up her legs and spine getting blasted with ripples of vertigo. Grinding into his touch Kai was subtly guiding her into him between dance moves to keep them inconspicuous and the mixed cocktail of feeling light and free from drinking and it being her birthday was causing her to act out; the unexpected enjoyment she's experiencing in minor exhibitionism setting her over the edge.

Turning her head to crush their lips together Bonnie's overdrawn moan was almost noisy enough to be heard over the racket around them, a trunk of an arm tightening around her front to suction them together. Drawing his hand away Kai's inked-out eyes trailed hungrily over her face and torso when she turned to face him and curled into him instinctively, the aftershock of embarrassment peeking out through her slightly drunken state. Breathing out the same Latin phrase he chanted during the lake party Bonnie felt the material between her legs seam together and chuckled against his throat.

"Like I said before; I can't take you _anywhere._ "

"It doesn't matter where I am, it's about if you're there too," Kai countered in a humorous tone angling her face to his, "now we should go find your friends before I drag you into a dark corner and really have my way with you."

Seeing the dark promise in his gaze Bonnie pressed into his stomach and pushed away with a coy grin giving an extra shake of her hips as she sauntered back down the metal pathway locating the stairs to head back downstairs. Their friends were scattered in groups near the bar, on the dance floor, and lounging on couches, taking a needed moment to enjoy the picture in front of her that she is once again able to experience.

Catching someone out of her peripheral Elena swayed to the beat with one hand in the air and the other in her hair, Cody's arm holding her close and copying her steps. Watching as they finished out the end of the song he leaned in close to tell her something and lit up when her reaction was one filled with delight. Steering in the direction they were headed Bonnie all but barreled into her friend who took the action as affection and squeezed her in a tight embrace.

"Are you having a fun 21st?!" she yelled over the music.

"It's been amazing! One of the best I can remember," Bonnie responded truthfully seeing the pure joy on Elena's face.

"This night has been something extra special for all of us, we're so happy and grateful you're here spending it with us. You know up until today everyone's birthday since I turned has just kind of came and went but with yours it wasn't a sure thing if we were going to be celebrating this one, or any future ones for that matter, and it's really had an effect on me."

"How so?" Bonnie wondered hearing something off in her tone, waiting through the blip of silence for her best friend to continue and the corners of her lips turned down ever so slightly.

"It just makes me remember what it was like before, when this day really signified aging and growing another year older. When my life still made sense even through all the supernatural battles and I knew who I was, and what I wanted. Back when I was..." Elena trailed off, eye-line shifting over to Cody at the bar.

"Human?"

Staring down at her fidgeting hands Bonnie could see the flashes of nostalgia, curiosity, and regret come through; the dark enigma she's been harboring for years being spilled bringing waves of emotions crashing down with it. Turning her attention over Elena's shoulder Kai and Cody had just clanked shot glasses and lulled their heads back, scooping up another round before letting out whoops of rapture.

"Maybe."

"If we're being _technical_ then Cody isn't exactly human either, he's a witch."

"But he still lives his life like a person just with the added bonus of bad ass supernatural powers like yourself. I'm sure it's just the liquor talking and the importance of you becoming an actual legal adult that's making me over-think everything, I guess I just miss being _alive_ more than I let on sometimes."

"Hey party-poopers get over here for shots!" Caroline's high-pitched sonic voice trilled over the music and chatter, checking the bar once more to her dancing around with a drink in each hand.

"Sorry for laying all of that on you, tonight really has been so great. Let's go get another drink; I'm thinking something fruity this time."

Through the next round of shots and two songs on the dance floor Elena's confession kept playing through her head digging its way deep into her psyche, the knowledge that they already wasted the cure on Katherine sealing her doppelganger's vampire-fate. Dancing through a few more numbers with her friends, boyfriend, and even a few Gemini's, Bonnie was finding herself longing to kick off her shoes and stretch out in bed.

"Want to get out of here?" lifting to her tiptoes so Kai could hear her better he leaned back with brows drawn.

"You want to leave your _own_ party? You really aren't much of a social butterfly," he smirked running his nails down her spine."

"I showed up, I fluttered around for a few hours, and now I'm ready for you to take me home," she concurred with ease, the 180 in his expression bringing a smile to her face.

"Well then lead the way."

Taking another fifteen minutes to thank every one of their friends that showed up for her party the two headed for the Lamborghini and made it home in half the time, checking her phone as she unlocked the front door.

"11:55PM, I still made it home before my birthday is technically over. I guess I really am old now."

"Ooh! Good, I wanted to give you something before the night was over but I wanted us to be alone."

"Sounds tempting but you already bought me a _Jaguar_ , Kai, I refuse to take anything else from you," Bonnie concluded steering down the hallway and into the bedroom, a sound of ecstasy slipping out when she stepped out of the heeled boots.

"But I didn't spend any money on this," he countered from behind where he rested a shoulder on the door frame, "and it's not even wrapped. It was a given to me, actually, so really it's just something that would be getting passed down to you."

"Given to you by whom?"

"Sheila," Kai said softly lifting a corner of his mouth and stepped into the room pushing his hands in his pockets. "Close your eyes."

Fighting the command for as long as she could withstand Bonnie's lids had just fluttered shut when something small and circular was placed in her palm, popping them open in anticipation. In the middle of her hand was seven round colored beads connected by wire in a perfect circle with a little loop between two where a chain could fit through.

"Gram's gave you this?"

"It's a pendent of protection," Kai nodded running the pad of his index finger over each bead going clockwise, "Sheila referred to them as ' _comfort beads'_ but among other names is ' _worry beads'_ which I found to be more fitting given its duty. Each stone represents a different crystal; jet, angelate, red garnet, schorl, carnelian, amethyst, and quartz. Basically it's supposed to be a ' _cure all'_ against any negativity thrown your way and is a protection of energies for all spheres of life – the core of that being your own life force."

"So you're saying this will essentially be what keeps my life force intact?"

"Pretty much, yeah, but the only way for it to work is to keep it on you to connect with your energy. I've always had it in my pocket but it was originally a necklace she used to wear. Sheila gave it to me at the end of the summer when I was staying here and since then I've managed to make it out of two merges, a trip into and out of an alternate dimension, and roughly a million attempts on my life in between so I'd say those stones are pretty damn lucky."

"Then why would you give this to me?" Bonnie asked, truly dumbfounded after hearing how sentimental and significant this is in his life.

"What do you mean?"

"You just said you believe that this pendant has protected you for more than half of your life and is the reason why you are standing here today breathing. That's like giving up your necklace from Jo that you still wear every single day, these are the only two things that you've kept from your past – it means something to you."

"I know, that's why I want you to have it," Kai said quietly and closed her fingers over it, keeping his hand there. "I need you to be safe, it's become my top priority if truth be told and this is the one way that I can think of that will ensure that, even if it puts my own safety at risk."

"Why would you do that?" Bonnie pressed feeling farther out of touch with his thought process than ever before; Kai being the narcissistic ego-trip that puts himself first and foremost being the one constant throughout his life. Locking eyes something in his demeanor shifted and the dim trickle of haze disappeared, her insides tightening as he enunciated each word.

"Because I'm in love with you."


	42. Chapter 42

Bonnie blinked once, twice, her insides still thrumming from the bass of the music as the liquor coursed through her system, the glossiness clearing the instant their gazes locked. Each second stretched into the next, the deafening silence filling up the room nothing in comparison to the shield lifting from Kai's eyes revealing a vulnerability that had her fumbling backwards a step.

"I don't know if I'm supposed to keep going or wait for you to say something but it's been quiet for what most would consider an eternity. Don't freak out."

"Who's freaking out?" Bonnie questioned knowing the wild and frantic stare she was sporting sufficed as a proper answer and shifted her gaze down clutching the contents in her palm. "You just gave me the physical object that's been keeping you alive for decades but that's no big deal. Oh yeah and then there's that other thing."

"That other thing," Kai repeated lifting the corner of his mouth with a tilt of his head, "should I keep going, maybe with the whole ' _pour your heart out and let it spill all over the floor'_ grand approach that I never understood in high school but now kind of feel oddly compelled to."

"Oh I wish you wouldn't," Bonnie murmured that went unheard.

"Or do things not need to be expressed in every little detail because you're Bonnie and you're witchy intuition kicked in and you already maybe kind of just _knew."_

" _No,_ I – I... I didn't, I mean I don't, I uh-" the words fumbled out but there was no clarity behind them, the scattered thoughts swirling coming out in fragments but the one that screamed through the loudest pierced through her skull splitting her in two, denial. "I just don't see how that's possible."

"I've been telling myself the same thing. It's impossible, can't be true, I don't know what I'm talking about, But Bon... I really think I do. I'm in unchartered territories don't get me wrong but I've done my research in life and on the internet which has really taken off and all signs point to –"

"Wait, just... hold on a second," Bonnie exasperated feeling the room sway underneath her and reached out to the side feeling the dresser.

It felt as if her system was going into shock listening to Kai's confession that she never would have believed he had within him, not in the prison world or real world alike. Over the past year Bonnie has gotten to know the man standing across the room from her and has watched him transform from perceiving him as a sociopathic murderer to a person who was cursed from the moment he was born and fought a long hard battle for survival, one of which the war he still has not won.

In spite of the fact that she has seen this major change he's undergone one of the main features that _Kai 2.0_ may have flipped on but was never taken into consideration was his ability to love. Long before the metaphorical _'humanity switch'_ as a result from the merge Bonnie felt the raw scorching magnetism Kai exerted and used to his will, pulling her in little by little since their very first encounter and saw the lust in his eyes knowing that he wanted her from the start.

The intensity only grew between them as time passed which inevitably tugged at Bonnie's heartstrings loosening them and opened up to let herself feel the unabashed and sexual sides of herself. Sensations that she didn't experience with Jeremy but logically deduced it was because of the magical charge that they can't seem to get a handle on in lieu of many attempts. Unrestrained passionate lust is what fuels them, what they feed off of to make them rabid for one another but what Kai is declaring is something different – bigger... too much.

"Bon?"

One moment Bonnie felt the hiccup rising and the next and she was bolting across her room and through the hallway to the other side spilling the contents of a full week's worth of liquid into the porcelain bowl. Forehead thudding against her forearm resting on the lid it seemed almost fitting that both her insides and outside world appeared to be whirling all around her, spinning off its axis.

xx

"I'm going to need you to repeat every part of that. Start at the beginning and don't leave out a single detail."

"Caroline."

"No I have to agree with her on this one I need to hear it again to fully absorb what really happened."

"Elena."

"Because to _me,_ " Care stressed twirling the straw of her iced tea around the edges of the glass, "it almost sounds like Kai told you he was in love with you, and you responded with –"

"Projectile vomiting," her other friend finished with a snicker and dipped a fry in ketchup chomping it in half, "is that how you reacted when my brother dropped the big L-bomb on you?"

"I didn't drink like it was my last day on Earth when Jeremy told me either," Bonnie grumbled in protest pushing the shades farther up her nose, "and why did we have to eat lunch outside again?"

"Because the cafeteria is where you sit when you're in high school and we're cool college students who get to eat outsideon the grass picnic-style as we discuss the tragic speedbump your love life just hit."

"Dramatic."

"Bonnie a boy just shredded himself to pieces romantically and left his heart out there for you to nourish and you went and threw up on it! What happened after, please tell me you made up for it a little in some way."

"Well..."

"Oh, Bon."

"I've got to head to class," she brushed off lifting to her knees and Elena reached out touching her forearm.

"It can't be that bad. And even if it is... it's just Kai," she joked with a teasing grin patting the spot beside her, "you didn't say it back?"

"I didn't say anything at all. Once I was done being sick I kind of placated my illness and crawled into bed pretending I was asleep. When I woke up for class he was still passed out and it was early so I snuck out to let him sleep in."

"But why didn't you say it?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do _you_ mean?" Elena repeated and both gaped at her silence.

"Awh our sweet little naïve bestie doesn't know," Care cooed looking over her like she was a toddler.

"Know what?"

"I don't think she does."

"Bonnie, how do you feel about Kai?"

"I like him."

"And how does he feel about you?"

"He..." she trailed off, staring down at her untouched lunch.

" _He..._ " Elena pressed causing her to glance up at her two friends with goofy smiles plastered in place.

"You can't even say it, can you?"

"He cares about me. I somehow made it onto the short list of people he favors and thanks to the silver lining of his humanity switch post-merge I'm able to believe that his feelings are genuine."

" _And,"_ her friend urged on, the other chiming in when she didn't.

" _...But..."_

"And... but... like you said it's _Kai_ we're talking about on the topic of _love_ and that's just –"she forcibly laughed.

"Just... too scary to believe it could be true?" Care suggested with a tilt of her head, "That the big bad Beast could be Beauty's true love?"

"Lay off the cheesy romance, Caroline, my life is not a fairytale."

"We live in a world of _witches_ and _vampires,_ " she protested in a hushed tone, "I'd say a fairytale is exactly the type of world we live in, Bonnie."

"Technically you were trapped in Kai's alternate realm all alone with him like Belle was in the Beast's castle," Elena chimed in much to their friend's glee.

"See! And you are a lot like Belle; independent, stubborn, with her head buried in Grimoire books. Now on the track of finding her one true love, the one that held her captive and opened her mind to the wonders –"

"Okay," Elena cut her off with a pat on her shoulder, "I think she gets it."

"Do you?"

"I don't know, let's see. Do you get the reference Care is trying to make?"

"She paints a vivid picture."

"So then you agree."

"With?"

"The point that she's trying to make..."

"That we live in a fairytale?"

"Well, yes but, no, that –"

"That Kai loves you and you love him and you're both going to live happily ever after," Caroline finished with a triumphant _'ripping of the Band-Aid'_ smile.

" _Care!_ It doesn't count if you tell her she has to figure it all out on her own!"

"Come on like that was happening anytime soon."

"Yeah but if Lumiere was in Belle's ear whispering –"

"Excuse me but can we all just slow down for a second? I don't even know..."

"...finish your thought."

"If that's what he really feels," Bonnie confessed softly, grateful her big tinted shades hid her eyes from the girls' penetrating stares. "And before the both of you start you know it's complicated."

"Maybe before the merge and the whole _upgraded manly Kai 2.0_ but you've been the biggest supporter he's had in convincing all of us that he's changed."

"He _has_ but-"

"And part of that seriously mind-warping event, at least for vampires, is that you feel like a whole new person like you're reborn again or something. What if when Kai saw you at the church it was like seeing you for the first time and since then he's been experiencing all new things and finally put a name to the feeling?"

"What if that's just how you want it to play out in your tall tale?"

"Actually," Elena countered appearing deep in thought as she twirled the rim of her coffee cup, "she might be onto something. Think about it Bon, this guy came into Mystic Falls with the intention of merging with Jo and seeking revenge on his coven and once it did happen and he took his sisters magic making him a real boy you became his only focus. The coven is intact, even his dad's still alive, and he's hanging out in town seeming pretty at home."

"With you."

"He sounds pretty smitten," her friend shrugged apologetically at what must have looked like a very bemused expression, "you have to talk to him. From what it sounded like you didn't let him get much out before you called it a night so just see where his head is at, it might not be as scary as you think. Besides, this isn't the first time a guy's told you he loves you and that must have been even scarier since it was your first time saying it back."

"Saying it back?" she repeated, her friends' approach clicking into place. "So you're saying since Kai dropped a bomb on me I automatically have to too? What Jer and I had was different, it was simpler; I knew how I felt without questioning it and we had a fairly uncomplicated relationship. None of that can be said about the relationship I'm in now."

"Because Jeremy's so... vanilla," rolled off Caroline's with her nose turned up, "nice to have around, a good choice, but just so, you know, average. Meanwhile Kai's a walking talking banana split with so many flavors and toppings your head will explode."

"Care it's barely past 11AM do I need to hose you down or can you contain yourself through lunch?" Elena chortled. "Honestly what kind of description was that?"

"Uh, a perfect one? I'm sorry Elena but your brother isn't the most captivating person to be around and Kai's got such a big personality and presence that it gives him more layers. And we both know Bonnie _loves_ peeling back those layers."

"Caroline."

"I'm teasing _._ Seriously, you two need to lighten up. Bonnie you look like the weird kid who used to eat glue in Kindergarten asked you to Prom and you don't know how to let him down easy. We are talking about _your boyfriend_ telling you _he's in love with you_ and your response really shouldn't be that difficult to figure out. But if your brain still needs time to catch up to your heart then let him do all the talking and just listen. Who knows, maybe he'll say something else that'll be the spark you needed. But either way you have to see him."

"And I will, later."

"Well how does right now sound, cause he's heading this way with the guys."

As luck would have it Kai was strolling through the quad with the Gemini's walking backwards with hands waving animatedly appearing deep in a story. Holding her breath Bonnie prayed her friends didn't draw attention their way dropping her gaze to the grass as they neared closer.

"Hey!" Evan's voice boomed causing Kai to turn and face the direction his friend's attention was drawn to – hers.

There was a flicker – almost microscopic – where Bonnie saw the crack in his otherwise flawless public persona and the light in his eyes dimmed, smile faltering a fraction before the veil was back in place.

"Well hey there ladies, another hard day on the grind?" Kai smirked motioning to the closed books underneath their lunch. "You know I'd be happy to step in and share some motivational words, a friendly pat on the back perhaps, whatever I can do to help."

"Or maybe you can bribe my Professor with one of your fancy toy cars," Caroline replied sugary sweet.

"That can be arranged," he winked and crouched down beside Bonnie, leaning in. "Hey."

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you," she said softly, a corner of his mouth lifting and reached back pulling a water bottle from his back pocket.

"For you."

Smiling at the kind gesture Bonnie accepted the drink taking a sip and her gaze wandered down the line at the last Gemini with his eyes locked on Elena as he began to speak.

"Hey so we were thinking since it's been exceptionally nice out today we're going to head to the nearest beach and have a bonfire tonight. Listen to some tunes, have a few drinks, make s'mores –"

"Take a late night naked dive in the ocean," Evan continued on without missing a beat, "significant others are welcome to join but not a requirement. We've got a volleyball net and some sports stuff it'll be fun. You guys game?"

"You mean over in Clearhollow?"

"That's the one. Thirty minutes or less or the s'mores are free."

"Technically they are anyway but," Cody shrugged and winked at her best friend, a silly grin spreading across Bonnie's face.

"I uh –"Caroline stalled, looking to her friend for which direction she should lead the conversation, giving her a slight nod to let her know it was fine.

"I don't think I have anything going on later," Elena gleamed earning the same expression from her budding crush.

"Caroline? Bonnie?"

"I am always in for a night on the beach. I'll see if Stefan wants to come too."

"Can't wait," Bonnie enthused squeezing Kai's hand, reciprocating it back her way with an additional kiss to her forehead.

"Word! Alright, _Master Leader Parker,_ we formally request your assistance in throwing the most kick-ass of bonfires, do you accept the challenge?"

Kai looked from her, to Evan, and back before lifting a shoulder and tilting his head. "Sure, why not. Do you want me to pick you up or go with your friends?"

"I can meet you there," Bonnie enthused, assuring him nothing was wrong with a sweet kiss for all to see. "What time?"

"6 sound good?"

"We'll see you there," Elena directed at Cody, saying their parting thoughts before dispersing with Kai in tow.

"So... is this going to be like a girl's night bonfire because I don't have to text Stefan. And Elena clearly doesn't have Damon anywhere in her mind so we can all stick together."

"I think she would rather be sticking to Cody's hip," Bonnie chuckled getting all of her stuff together as they started off towards class. "Really, I'm fine. I'll talk to him when I'm there to break the awkwardness and then we'll go about our night."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I... don't know," she let out truthfully, his expression before she took off for the bathroom reappearing in her mind, "I guess I'll just play it by ear."

"Oh Bonnie we have so much to teach you," Caroline cooed linking their arms together and passing through the quad's entrance to the school, "and I can't wait to see what you'll discover."

xx

The day had felt unusually warm for the beginning of February but Bonnie wasn't sure how the weather so she dressed in a Wilt grey pocket boyfriend tank top that was baggy and hung in layers over the white shorts with a yellow bikini underneath. Damon and Stefan had passed on ' _a college gathering with Kai's freaky coven'_ so the girls were riding solo, unable to help but notice Elena looked extra nice in a white camisole underneath a green open cardigan and jeans. But when it came down it Bonnie always thought Caroline had the best style, rocking a white flowing crop-top under a half-length jean jacket and gray spandex tights.

"We all look so hot there won't even need to be a fire with us around."

"Care can I borrow your confidence some time?" Elena pondered looking herself over.

"Have at it girl because you should be able to recognize how stunning you look. Better yet let's head over there and Cody can tell you himself how hot you look and that'll be a boost like no other."

"Do you guys really think he's into me?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Don't you?"

"I think he might be into the idea of me but he doesn't know anything about me, specifically the whole never aging and drinking blood to survive ordeal."

"Hey he's got secrets he hasn't been able to tell anyone either, you're just the exception as am I since their leader is dating the baddest witch around. That's like asking if Kai is really in love with Bonnie... _duh._ "

"Funny."

Blowing her a kiss Caroline slipped on her sandals grabbed her purse and headed for the door leading them all down the hallway and out to the car. The thirty minute ride from Mystic Falls to Clearhollow went by in a flash, unsure if it was from the mindless chatter or her friends driving.

"Well, here we are," Caroline drawled, looking her over from the driver's seat, "ready to just dive in there, no clue what you're going to say –"

"Caaare," Elena stretched in warning.

"No regard to if you're about to make his day or stomp –"

"Wow check out that fire let's go in for a closer look," she interrupted again hopping out of the backseat and Bonnie silently thanked her for the out, following close behind as they made their way to the beach.

The sun was just starting to set casting beautiful rays of pinks, oranges, and purples across the sky and water, the reflection giving the illusion the colors went on endlessly. Craning her head from side to side Bonnie's eyes widened at the amount of people scattered along the sand while others dared the choppy waters. Weaving through the crowd music filled the air over the chatter and got her first chance to look around; shaking her head in mock-surprise thinking the Gemini's would do anything less than over the top.

The music was being played through tall speakers spread all around and elegant white cabanas dotted the beach as far as the eye could see, each appearing to be set up with their own individual events. Not only was there an ultimate bonfire less than a yard away but they had also passed a few fire pits with a handful of small square plush white ottomans around each where kids were lounging around.

Reaching her destination Bonnie was not at all surprised to find the coven of witches dancing around the immense fire. Spying Kai through the flames something within her relaxed seeing him so carefree and _normal_ as he goofed around with the group blending in with his supernatural family.

Bonnie also couldn't help but shamelessly appreciate how drop dead gorgeous he is, in her opinion now more than ever. She hadn't seen him much in hats in the prison world other than the occasional beanie but his upgraded look also came with a new sense of style for this decade and it was apparent he was letting his Gemini brothers take the lead on his wardrobe.

The backwards snapback he had on was all black with dark cranberry cursive writing across the middle and matched his plaid board shorts fading from black down to the same shade of red at the bottom. The light grey tank top clung to Kai's frame highlighting every inch of his physique and from this angle he looked – and acted – like the farthest thing from a 40 year old man.

This was someone who made _every_ head turn.

-x—x—x—x—

" _Hey!"_ Cooper hollered, watching him as he moved with an extra pep in his step towards the area where three girls stood.

Legs moving before his brain caught up Kai slowly inhaled trying to regain his composure with each step, green orbs locked on his the whole way. The trepidation he's felt since last night had only amplified when he saw Bonnie this afternoon; the worry in the back of his mind that his picture perfect world was going to crumble and give out from under his feet leaving him particularly agitated.

The last thing Kai wants his girlfriend to feel in response to being told he's in love with her is physically ill but now that that's out of the way the second dark thought was burrowing itself deep in his cerebrum and couldn't shake the dread that Bonnie will get spooked and run. Shaking off the jitters Kai slipped back into the part he's been playing all day of his usual happy go-lucky mischievous self.

"Well look what we were able to summon to the beach – one beautiful girl for all of us!" Lifting Bonnie's arm up and pulling she giggled as he twirled her into his chest. "Dibs."

"Yeah that term faded out back in '98 my man but I can appreciate your form."

Mimicking the same dance move Evan pulled Emma into his chest and nipped at her playfully like a dog.

"Yeah and if we're being honest then I'm already spoken for but I was summoned for other reasons, like drinking by the fire, or making the best s'mores you've ever had."

"Ooh tough talk _Miss America,_ care to make a wager?" Evan prompted.

"What do you have in mind?"

"If you can get one guy and one girl in the group to agree you can dole out your own reward or punishment but if you _can't_ then your lady friend has to go on a date with my buddy. Good deal?"

"How is it a deal if you don't know what I want yet?" Caroline smirked eyeing him, Elena, and Cody who both looked like deer in headlights. "Okay, and if I win then the next party is at your house."

"Oh done and _done._ Let's roast em' up!"

"Right now?"

"Do you want to leave these kid's agonizing over ' _will they or won't they'_? Wow, you've got a little dark side."

"You have no idea," she responded with a voice that was too sweet to be deemed genuine, Kai's lip curving in amusement as she started in on the challenge he was sure she didn't really want to win.

Gathering around the fire Caroline started it on making her first creation while Bonnie crept in closer; the hair's sticking up on the back of his neck in anticipation. Inspecting her expression all he could pick up on were the trickles of stress blocked by the invisible surrounding barrier of dismay so alternatively he let his mind wander down her body to her outfit, shifting from one foot to the other trailing over her bare legs.

"Hey I'm sorry about running out this morning I had an early class and you looked pretty comfortable."

"Don't worry about it. I was just wondering how you've been feeling," Kai said as they moved farther away from the group out of ear-shot.

"Oh I'm fine now, I didn't pay for it nearly as bad as I thought Care was going to make it for me," Bonnie laughed off, reciprocating her smile before the edges curved down turning somber.

"And what about how you feel towards us?"

The third wave of apprehension crashed over Kai like an icy slap across the face seeing the spark ignite her green irises, an electric charge spreading out from the pupils. The same panic-stricken expression that Bonnie's shown once or twice before in 1994, when her fear of him made her bolt.

"Kai-"

"Because I hope you don't think I expect you to say it just because I did," he continued as if she didn't try to break the second longest silence he's ever endured and snorted through the uneasiness. "Bonnie the first time I met you, you almost set me on fire. I think it's safe to say we're not like the everyday boring couple we're _much_ more action-packed and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't want anything to change with us. I know I caught you by surprise last night and trust me you weren't the only one but there's no pressure that came with it. I'm perfect where we are."

There was a hint of earnestness cracking through Bonnie's armored shell, the innocent sincerity reflecting back at him making Kai dizzy with conflict over backing off to not spook her more or pushing his luck farther, possibly right over the edge of a cliff with how much he's rambling.

"But Kai I don't even know where that is now," Bonnie admitted looking as lost as she sounded with unguarded orbs appearing as if they're gazing straight through him, tugging through his ribcage to spill out everything.

Sliding his arm around her waist he needed to feel the physical closeness that she was denying him to fully express, nuzzling her neck making playful beastly noises until she broke into a fit of laughter. "We're together."

"Is that enough for you?"

Leaning back Kai gave what must have looked like a very dumbfounded stare, brows knitted together as he took in every feature on Bonnie's face wondering how she could think anything else. Cupping her jaw he angled his face so the tips of their noses grazed and halted his movements letting her feel the full force of the invisible rope attached to them, tightening a little more each day. The puff of breathless air against his cheek brought a smile across his lips and hummed in content flicking his lids up to lock eyes.

"It's everything."

If Bonnie had been squeezing him any tighter he was worried his spine would snap from the pressure, using whatever he had left in his lungs to gust out a soft chuckle rubbing her back.

"I really do care about you, Kai."

"I know," he nodded flashing through a dozen or two moments; falling asleep together, making each other breakfast lunch and dinners, helping him through the nightmares, fighting off his dad, breaking him out of a prison world, Miss Scarlet, Paris, Christmas, karaoke night, fluttering through all of the times Bonnie's gone out of her way to protect him and nurse him back to health and so many more finally landing on the expression she was giving him now, exposed and unguarded. "I know exactly how you feel about me."

Sealing the declaration with a kiss Kai felt without an unwavering doubt that Bonnie was in love with him too, she must be, he's seen every type of affection thrown his way and the only real love he's ever received by someone was from his twin grounded in her need to keep him safe.

There are a few eerie similarities between the two significant women that Kai favors but much to Josette's dismay she was forced to have him be a leading role in her tragic play while Bonnie has chosen time and time again to let him deeper into her life.

Gabby was a pale silhouette of what being in love was supposed to be like – not for lack of effort, as he was able to see now more than ever that what she felt was more genuine than he'd give her credit for. But even so, there was always a disconnection and illusion over who Kai really is vs. the guy he was with her that blocked them from being anything bona fide. What Bonnie has given him is different – it's real – and now that he finally has it figured out he's not about to lose it.

Rocking back on his heels Kai broke the kiss with just enough separation for her to see his face and cupped underneath her ear.

"I won't keep bringing it up but I don't want you to think I didn't mean what I said or that we were too drunk or ' _in the moment'_ or whatever. I love you, Bon. And I'm happy we're together. Now how about we make sure your friend hasn't physically combusted over how badly she's losing her bet."

Trailing his fingertips down her arm Kai intertwined their hands and pivoted starting back towards the group concluding they had missed a big portion of the debate.

"Ugh you know this whole thing is rigged! If the stakes weren't _what they happened to be_ then this would have gone down so differently."

"Hayes, might I remind you of a little thing called ' _karaoke night'_? May I also plead _sore loser?_ "

"Oh what _ever_ you didn't even try one."

"Did you use cinnamon graham crackers?"

"No?"

"Then they already can't compete with mine," Kai grinned cheekily.

The cross-expression of absurdity and respect tinged with bubbling blonde rage that Caroline enjoys flaring his way probably because he is one of the few soulless braves that challenges her never, fails to remind him of his own old best friend, Ash. The memory of one Stone sister pinged the thought of the other, glancing through the flames spotting AnnaLynne dancing around with a half-eaten s'mores in the air with Emma.

Even though there's no reason for there to be any tension or weirdness between them it still seems pretty obvious that Kai was being intentionally ignored and knew if he didn't fix it soon Ash would take a flight over just to kick his ass. Tucking that in the back of his mind his eye line continued scanning through the crowd – at _his_ coven – and the simple reminder settled in his stomach and made him feel calm.

"Alright now that we've hooked my boy up with one of the finest ladies in town it is time to _turn up!_ " Turner announced with a thrust of his red plastic cup in the air and chugged it, scooping Emma up and taking off down the beach.

"Hey only the first touch is free!" Hayes called out trailing after them.

"So what are my three totally rad ladies in the mood for? To my right we have a volleyball net if we feel like being sporty. Also to my right farther down the beach we've got a few tournaments set up for things like best sandcastles and who can make the best sand creatures or sand people's bodies by burying your friend and using their head to go off of. That one's pretty funny. And even _farther_ on my right there's a DJ setup somewhere that's taking requests on pretty girls so unfortunately one of you didn't quite make the cut."

Cracking up at girls' stunned faces Kai lifted Bonnie's arm spinning her in circles and danced alongside leading her down the beach with her friends in tow. There was still enough daylight that they didn't have to kick on the lanterns hanging off the cabanas and other various objects but the tiki torches were lit up all along the sand giving the party an overall fire-y glow.

"Are you hungry?" Kai heard Dean's mini-me ask from a few feet back.

"Famished."

"There have been people grilling up burgers, dogs, and wings since we rolled it out if you're interested. Or you can find a variety of other options in some of the cabanas."

"No that sounds great. You guys want to come?"

"I'm fine for now I'll meet back up with you after," Bonnie smiled and he could have sworn he saw her wink at Elena to which she replied with wide eyes and darting away like Bambi when its mom was shot.

"Well if you all will excuse me there is a gentleman over there that makes a delectable blend of liquor-soaked fruits. I suggest the mangos. Oh and the pineapples. Watermelon is next on my list, see you soon ciao."

As quick as she was there AnnaLynne was gone chatting it up with the bartender in one of the cabanas and continued down the path passing activities as they went. Kai felt great pride seeing how this generation of Gemini's knew how to throw some bitchin' parties and are more advanced with their magic skills than he was at 20.

"So now it's just me third-wheeling it with you guys during a pretty lovey-dovey date night, _super_."

"I know way to stick out like a big sore thumb," he mimicked in the same girly whiney voice.

"Care," Bonnie interrupted with a hand raised up landing in front of his chest, "I've had enough alone time with him to last me a lifetime. Your presence is more than welcome."

"Oh well maybe I'll just let _you two_ have some alone time then,"Kai voiced with a playful sassy edge shifting back a step and felt his lips spread from ear to ear feeling fingers curl into the shirt keeping him in place. "Or not."

"What do you guys say to building some sandcastles?" Bonnie perked up.

"Technically it's not just ' _building some sandcastles'_ but a competition to see who the best of the best are and who are just first-rate losers but yeah, totally up for building a masterpiece."

"Wait-"

"A masterpiece, really? By building it with plastic containers that I used when I was three? Please."

"I mean if you think you're too old..."

"Me?"

"Or if you don't have the skill then we'll let you bow out gracefully before the coven hears about it and rags on you until the end of time."

Scoffing at the remark Caroline strolled with determination towards the tournaments and next thing he knew it was an hour later. Half of the Gemini's had joined in and all of them had gotten way too into detail with their creations. After a hard loss of none of them winning against the surfer dude who looks like he sleeps on the beach they needed to move their legs and burn off some energy rounding up the rest of the gang and heading for the volleyball net.

"So how should we do this, girls verses guys? Shirts verses skins?" Cody inquired.

"First we need to find one teammate to even it up."

"Say no more." Stripping off his shirt Turner went for the closest girl in his vicinity and within fifteen seconds had her back on their side of the net. "She's already in a bikini, so, shirts verses skins it is!"

Snickering Kai shrugged and pulled his tank over his head, gaze dropping beside him noticing his girl drink him in. He still liked his appearance from 1994, it had been working out just fine for him but he can admit he derives great pleasure from seeing Bonnie react to his appearance. Whether it be something as subtle as a hitch in her breathing or as forward as being the one that's removing his clothing, watching her want him drove Kai crazy.

"So what do you say; partners or enemies?"

Sliced eyes darted up from his torso widening his grin thinking back to how different her answer used to be, and from not that long ago. Pushing her bold response a step farther Bonnie plucked her tank top off revealing a yellow bikini top with loose strings draped over the top of the material on her chest and up for the straps. The contrast against her skin made her eyes appear lighter.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Actually for one more person to join our team, we've got a bunch of shy-guys over there."

"Ugh, fine," Caroline grumbled joining their side and then the game was on.

Kai had to give it to these college kids they all had a competitive edge that he wasn't sure stemmed from growing up in a supernatural world or if it was just something in the water these days. After a grueling three game streak the skins came out the champs and Kai was sweaty enough to prove it, peeling off his hat and shaking his head watching the droplets fling everywhere. Rubbing his hand up his stomach sand clung to him in patches from diving to save the ball and looked off to the water, hating what lies underneath the surface but knew he needed to rinse off.

"You want to go for a dip?" Turner asked his lady friend who quickly obliged with Cooper and Elena not far behind.

"I have sand in places I can't even talk about," Caroline blurted out earning a snort of amusement from him that she had to fight to ignore. "Come on we'll just go in quick."

"Kai thought to put up a protection barrier about half a mile out to block anything from coming in, so don't worry you won't get caught at _feeding time,_ " Hayes said with a ghoulish finish topping it off by biting into his girlfriend's neck and thrashing around her.

"You were worried about the wellbeing's of others? That doesn't sound right." Bonnie's friend said with doubtfulness.

"Other's? I've seen _Jaws_ 192 times I _know_ what's out there waiting for me no way out of all of the ways that I've died being eaten by a shark has never crossed my mind."

"Yeah but we did the spell you're fine, dude," his Gemini buddy tried again and Kai just nodded, looking off to his side. "Well what about if we take your girl."

Before he could swivel his head Hayes and Emma held Bonnie's hands sprinting full speed for the water, glancing at Caroline giving him a smirk and cursed under his breath jogging after. Stepping beside a pair of white shorts Bonnie was just out of reach a few feet away with the waves lapping under her knees.

"Join me?" She purred making Kai impulsively step one foot into the water, eye line trailing up to the tiny strips of yellow cloth glowing from the moon's reflection off the surface.

"Well when you put it like that," he murmured in a deep husk stalking forward one step at a time, brow arching when she moved backwards at the same time.

"Catch me."

Dunking underwater out of sight Kai felt his pounding heart jump up his throat looking all around him at the black water with not a drop of daylight left in the sky. Glancing up towards the horizon his stomach flipped and shook his head focusing on the task at hand and scanned his surroundings catching a flash of yellow ten feet away.

Diving under to drive away the fear he reached Bonnie without having to come up for air, tickling her ribs before dragging her under with him. Suctioning her front to his Kai wrapped her legs around his waist and searched for her lips connecting when they broke the surface. Letting the waves drift them back he deepened the kiss and that mixed with not being able to touch the ground gave him a rush of the spins.

"I found you," he whispered against her lips through winded breaths, "and I'm not gonna let you go."

"I don't want you to."

Humming in delight at Bonnie's simple yet impactful confession his arms curled around her tighter and exhaled a sigh of relief when his foot made contact with something sturdy continuing back until they were only waist deep.

"Yo Parker we're up for beer pong!"

"Alright," Kai yelled back over his shoulder, "want to play some beirut?"

"You know how to play?" Bonnie asked perplexed as she untangled herself from him and headed for land.

"You know this game was coined back in the fifties, right? Only then they used actual paddles, hence the name. The game you know didn't get going until oh you guessed it, the eighties."

"So this isn't your first time."

"This isn't my first time."

"It is so difficult discovering firsts for you," she huffed one step ahead of him and Kai just shook his head with half a crooked grin recalling her being present last night during his _major_ 'first' in life.

Elena and Cooper walked over to them with extra towels when they got back on shore and headed for the cabana. Politely declining his request to be his new partner over Hayes Bonnie gave him a kiss for luck and went off with her friends to grab something to eat.

Fifteen minutes later the small gathering around them was booming; it was down to one cup each and if they beat these guys they'll knock out the defending champs taking the title. Tossing the ping pong like a basketball it soared into the solo cup followed by the crowd's audible gasp.

"This is it. This is the cup. The big enchilada, all the pressure's on," Hayes ranted unsure if he was pumping himself up or getting psyched out. "I can't do it you have to."

"No just toss it. Even if they make the shot we get a rebuttal."

"Dude you've been wiping out this whole table you got to make the winning shot. Take them out, bring home the belt."

Swiping the ball from his partner's palm Kai lined up the shot and watched it soar, catching Bonnie in his peripheral. The eruption of noise signaled he'd made it but he was already focused on something more important, patting Hayes on the shoulder before weaving through bodies to find one in particular.

"Well aren't you Mr. Popular," Bonnie sing-songed beside him back in her outfit, wrapping her arms around his bicep and resting her chin peering up at him with wide eyes.

"There's only one girl that can hold my attention."

"Meanwhile you've got _everybody's_ ," she smiled with a playful tone and pecked his bare arm, bending it up and behind her to pull her into his side.

"Not to break up the sweet moment but we were going to head back to the fire and kick it up a notch. Bust out the sparklers and colored flame packets and get weird, you in?"

"Sure," Kai agreed after peeking down for conformation and met back up with the whole group who wasted no time making the fire twice its size with colored flames of blue, green, and purple.

Noticing a giant log near his foot he picked it up and tested out its weight, grabbing a few rocks and shells and tossing them in the air launching them into the sea like it was a baseball bat. Dropping the top of it to the sand he leaned against it for support and reached out beside him clasping Bonnie's hand about a foot's length apart.

Kai felt a sense of comfortability looking around the bonfire at his coven that hasn't tried to overthrow him and are actually getting along with each other and still couldn't get over that he was finally the Gemini leader. Elena and Caroline danced around with sparklers giving one to Bonnie and pulling her into it, Emma and AnnaLynne joining in too.

"God I love being a Gemini," Cooper expressed from a few feet away and for the first time, in a long time, Kai had to agree.


End file.
